PhD student William Gee was named a recipient of a 2025-2026 Graduate Associate Teaching Award by The Ohio State University Graduate School, one of the university’s highest honors recognizing excellence in graduate student teaching. 

Gee, a doctoral student in the School of Communication, is among a select group of approximately 20 graduate associates chosen across disciplines across the university for their outstanding contributions in the classroom. The award highlights graduate students who demonstrate exceptional commitment to teaching and student learning, as well as a strong ability to engage and support undergraduate students. 

The GATA award is presented annually to recognize graduate teaching associates who go above and beyond in their instructional roles. Recipients are selected through a competitive process that evaluates teaching effectiveness, mentorship and dedication to student success. 

A computational social scientist and trained lawyer, Gee’s research focuses on how communities use communication to turn disagreement into productive outcomes, with a current emphasis on how AI-mediated communication is shaping democratic discourse. Before his doctoral studies, he held roles across public service and global policy, including leading sustainability initiatives for Washington, D.C.’s public buildings and supporting international security research as the United Nations Foundation. He brings this interdisciplinary background into the classroom through hands-on, context driven teaching, specifically around the responsive use of emerging technologies.