Graduate Faculty

• Public Relations
• Sports Communication

Dr. Joseph Hoffswell (Ph.D., University of Missouri)

• Pop Culture Studies
• Digital Communication

Dr. Gary Hughes (

Dr. Kumi Ishii (Ph.D., Kent State University)

• Computer Mediated Communication
• Organizational Communication
• Quantitative Research Methods

Dr. Angie Jerome (Ph.D., University of Kansas)

• Organizational Communication
• Organizational Apologia, Sports Rhetoric
• Organizational Rhetoric
• Image Repair

Dr. Jieyoung Kong (Ph.D., Arizona State University)

Graduate Program Director

• Intercultural Communication
• Qualitative / Ethnographic Research Methods
• Communities of Practice

Dr. Holly Payne (Ph.D., University of Kentucky)

• Organizational Communication
• Interpersonal Communication

Dr. Jennifer Mize Smith (Ph.D., Purdue University)

•  Organizational Communication
• Communication in the Nonprofit Sector
• Qualitative Research Methods

Cliff Shaluta (M.A., Marshall University)

• Professor

• Writer

• Brand Wrangler

Dr. Helen Sterk (Ph.D., University of Iowa)

Department Head

• Gender Communication
• Rhetoric

Sean Ward (M.A., Western Kentucky University)

• Visual Communication & Branding
• User Experience
• Integrated Marketing Communication
• Social Communication (Social Media) and & Analytics

Emeritus/Emerita Faculty

Dr. Randall Capps (Ed.D., University of Virginia)

Dr. Judith Hoover (Ph.D., Indiana University)

Dr. Regis O’Connor (Ph.D., University of Kansas, deceased)

Dr. Larry Caillouet (Ph.D., University of Illinois)

Dr. Ellen Bonaguro (Ph.D., Ohio University)

Dr. Kay Payne (Ed.D., Vanderbilt University)

Dr. Larry Winn (Ph.D., Indiana University

Dr. Dale Wicklander (Ph.D., Univ. of Minnesota)

Dr. Carl Kell (Ph.D., University of Kansas)