Dr. Jay Allison started his career at UNT in 1989 after securing his PhD from LSU. It was at that time that he inherited the nationally recognized performance program established at North Texas by Ted Colson. In his time at UNT, Dr. Allison has written, directed, and/or performed in over 28 unique performances. He has also written over a dozen book chapters and academic journal articles, a marker of his long involvement with Text and Performance Quarterly. It is this work that has helped to advance performance studies in our discipline and in our communities, and it is this work that has earned Dr. Allison the Coger Award.

Notably, Dr. Allison was a collaborative director and performer in What We Talk about When We Talk about Race. The presenter at NCA explained that this performance "included 7 distinct and intertwined scenes, each of which depicted the problematic nature of our discussions about race in America. The breadth and quality of this work situate Dr. Allison as an outstanding performer and scholar."

We celebrate Dr. Jay Allison for being awarded The Leslie Irene Coger Award. This prestigious award is given to persons who have contributed an outstanding body of live performances. The award may be given to directors, producers, teachers, or performers. The award will normally be given for a body of performance or an outstanding career in performance. It may, in exceptional cases, be given to performers of a single or a smaller body of performance. The National Communication Association believed this award was fitting for Dr. Allison's dedication and contribution to the craft over his entire career. We are grateful and proud of his service to our department and to our students. Join us in celebrating his success!