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News Blotter |
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How can emerging scholars demonstrate mastery of course concepts in a graduate-level class? One way is to have their ideas peer-reviewed and published! I'm really proud of new work by Clementina Edema, Edikan Nkanta, Alexis Quick, Linda Kabaaula, and Alina Niftulaeva that explores how [in]consistency between a company's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statements and the composition of their leadership team influences applicants' perceptions. A hint to findings: Our initial subtitle was "Your DEI statement isn't working."
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We generally trust entities online are who/what they claim to be offline. But what happens when doubt is introduced? This new piece applied truth-default theory to advance warranting theory to understand how people concerned about 'ghost kitchens' make assessments about a restaurant on DoorDash when presented with conflicting restaurant images on Google Maps.
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TMIM! I've never worked with it; but when colleagues Dr. Aimee Miller-Ott and Dr. Lynne Kelly asked to to collaborate on a project they were working on with the theory of motivated information management, I leapt at the chance to work with these two scholars. What we found was that the TMIM is generally good at understanding and explaining how parents manage their uncertainty about their children's' use of the myriad 'new' media increasingly available to them.
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June, 2026 ICA26 |
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The highlight of each academic year is getting to attend the annual meeting of the International Communication Association. This year ICA is held in Cape Town; and I'm looking forward to seeing a collaboration with Dr. Alex Hinck presented, work with some brilliant upcoming scholars at the CAT/MC Doctoral Consortium, and the chance to see so many international friends and colleagues on our fifth continent together.
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Overview |
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| Having received an education along US-27
in Michigan (including Alma College, Central Michigan University,
and Michigan State University), I emigrated from Michigan to Illinois by way of Oklahoma. A Professor of communication, I best-enjoy teaching courses in computer-mediated
and organizational communication, and work with diverse undergraduate and graduate students to delve deep into
the way communication and communicative technologies
change the way individuals learn about and interact with each
other. I count myself lucky I have a career to which I look
forward to every morning and that supports my other pursuits,
including travel.
At both the scholarly and personal levels, I love what I
do, and try to dive into each new activity fully. From researching
the ways that individuals use technologies to augment and
enhance decision making in work groups to sushing the slopes
of Colorado's back
bowls, I try to find the joy of each experience. Always
willing to try new things (from qualitative research to luging),
I find much of my life guided by a dogma common among my friends,
"Always do, never don't." At ease conducting social
network analyses and discussing theoretical implications of
research articles as well as touring vineyards and watching
Phineas
& Ferb with my nephews & niece, colleagues and friends
often describe me as eclectic, so I've tried to articulate
a bit of me below. |
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Professional
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I have taught courses in Communication and Business to
a variety of students: residential, nontraditional, and continuing
education at several institutions. I have had the opportunity
to teach courses in Mediated Communication, Group Communication, Public
Speaking, Organizational Communication, Social and Economic
Impacts of Telecommunication, Introduction to Media, and International
Business; as well as online courses in Interpersonal and Group
Communication.
As a researcher, I have a variety of research interests,
including the use of technology for communication and decision-making
within organizations (my primary focus) and online identity
construction and presentation. Trained in a variety of methodologies,
I have a preference towards experimental and survey research,
especially in online contexts. |
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Educational |
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Ph.D., Media and Information Studies;
Michigan State University
M.A., Interpersonal Communication; Central
Michigan University
B.S., International Business Administration;
Central
Michigan University |
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Personal |
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| I was born and raised just outside of Flint, Michigan. For
those of you who have seen Roger
and Me, those scenes (both geographical and political)
were the daily stage upon which my youth was played out. My
family comes from both sides of the union aisle (blue and white
collar, almost 50/50), which is probably what drew me to business
and communication in the first place.
Though I was born in Michigan, soon into high school I began
to take advantage of my new-found passion for travel and did
so frequently. Many of my travels brought me to the East Coast,
specifically the Garden
State, which I consider my second--and real--home. Many
of my friends live in the Philadelphia metropolitan area,
and it's not uncommon for me to come up missing on a Saturday
morning, only to be eating a Gino's
cheesesteak ("with") by evening.
Beyond my studies and travels, I am also a ravenous thespian,
an avid alpine skier, and enjoy lazing away an afternoon with
a good book on the shore of a nearby lake. I have a propensity
towards books as escapism, and was happy that the release
of the final Harry
Potter was during a time when losing a day to reading
it didn't detract from anything else. Alongside these more
pedantic pursuits, I've also had the privileged to perform
in a West End (London) theatrical
production, water ski in alligator-infested waters, sing
in a Parisian
cathedral, hit a deer with an airplane, and enjoy combative
watertubing. |
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