About the Award

gudykunst william 

The William B. Gudykunst Outstanding Book Award

This award recognizes the best book in intercultural research written by a member of the Academy. The award has been established in memory of William “Bill” Gudykunst (1947-2005).  Bill was a pioneer and an outstanding leader in the field of intercultural communication. Bill’s theory of Anxiety-Uncertainty Management (AUM) continues to be one of the most influential theories for intercultural researchers. Bill authored or edited 31 books and monographs including Intercultural Communication Theory, Intergroup Communication, and Communicating with Strangers (with Young Yun Kim). For his extraordinary scholarly achievements, Bill received numerous awards, and was named a Fellow of the International Communication Association. Bill was a charter fellow and a dedicated member of the Intercultural Academy for Intercultural Research. He hosted the Academy’s first conference in 1998 on the campus of California State University-Fullerton, where he was a professor of Human Communication Studies and acting coordinator and graduate advisor of the Asian American Studies Program.