George Ziegelmueller, distinguished professor of communication at Wayne State University, has been named the 2000 Michigan Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). He was selected from nominees at 12 universities in Michigan.

Ziegelmueller, a Royal Oak, Ml resident, has taught speech communication at WSU for 43 years, during which he has coached many nationally ranked and award-winning debate and forensics teams. He has written extensively in books and journals and has directed 40 masters theses and doctoral dissertations by students in the communication department, a unit in WSU's College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts. He is a recipient of WSU's President's Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Earlier this year, the veteran educator received the Elice Howard Award for outstanding contributions to high school forensics from the Michigan High School Forensic Association. In 1999 he was named "One of the Ten Most Influential Persons in Forensics" by the American Forensics Association. That same year, he received the Donald H. Ecroyd Award as Outstanding Communication Teacher in Higher Education from the National Communication Association.

Also last year, Ziegelmueller coordinated the prestigious National Debate Tournament (NDT), which was hosted by Wayne State. The NDT named WSU's tournament its "Best of the Decade" and conferred upon Ziegelmueller the Keele Award for Outstanding Service. A new NDT honor, the Ziegelmueller Outstanding Director of Debate Award has been named for the nationally known debate and forensics coach.

Ziegelmueller earned a doctoral degree from Northwestern University, a master's degree from Southern Illinois University and a bachelor's degree from DePauw University. He has taught as a visiting professor at the University of Massachusetts, University of North Carolina, Gonzaga University, University of Vermont and Wake Forest University.

CASE established the Professors of the Year program in 1981 and works in cooperation with the Carnegie Foundation and various higher education associations in its administration. This year, there are winners in 44 states and the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. CASE is the largest international association of educational institutions, with a membership of nearly 2,900 colleges, universities and independent elementary and secondary schools.