The Commons at Helm Library - Original Steering Committee

I found my love for Communication at Western Kentucky University, where I earned my MA degree many years ago. I hope the same will be true of all our students, graduate or undergraduate.

Before coming to WKU as the Head of the Department of Communication in 2011, I had taught at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Before that, I earned my Ph.D. at the University of Iowa, writing a dissertation on the allure of romance novels. Before that, my MA work at WKU opened me up to the wide world of meaning through study of oral interpretation, theatre criticism and theory, and rhetorical criticism and theory. (Thank you, Dr. Kell!!). And before that, I taught high school for three years after studying theatre and public speaking at Calvin College.

I’ve chosen higher education as my career because it’s a calling for me. Working with students is the most fun I can imagine. We make ideas come to life in class. Researching and writing engages me deeply because it’s how ideas are created in academe. And heading an amazing department such as ours is a great honor. We are making a difference in student lives and in the world of Communication through helping students learn that platforms and content depend upon each other. We will influence careers and culture through the work done in WKU’s Department of Communication.

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