Avery Holton earns Top Research Paper Award

Avery Holton earned a Top Research Paper award for his work on the deployment of drones at universities during the most recent meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. The conference, which is the third largest communication conference in the United States, annually hosts more than 1,500 members. This year’s conference was held in Toronto, Canada, where Dr. Holton and his co-authors, Jean Norman (Weber State) and Quint Randle (BYU) presented their work.

Their paper, entitled "Drones on High: Uses and Challenges of Incorporating Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Into Higher Education,” surveyed more than 100 U.S. universities, finding that up to 80 percent of campuses may be using drones on campus and in classrooms. The study found that campuses vary in how they regulate drone use, with many allowing faculty and students to use drones on campus or for academic purposes. Among disciplines making the most use of drones were Engineering, Communications, and Athletics.

The study earned the Laurence R. Campbell Research Faculty Paper of the Year. For more information about the study, please contact Avery Holton (Avery.Holton@utah.edu).

Pictured left to right, Quint Randle of BYU and Avery Holton of Utah