School of Mass Communication Professor Robert A. Thomas, Ph.D., was awarded Loyola University New Orleans' top faculty honor, the 2011 Dux Academicus Award, on Friday, Jan. 20, at the 2012 Spring President's Convocation for faculty and staff. The award is the highest honor a professor can receive for exellence in teaching and scholarship. It recognizes a faculty member who "is able to impart the knowledge and wisdom of the humanities, sciences or the professions to students in a manner consistent with the unique philosophy of Loyola University New Orleans as a Jeusit institution of higher education."