I enjoy working with dynamic and bright young adults, and with faculty who love learning as much as I do. My top five Gallup Strengths include Learner, Input, Connectedness, Arranger, and Relator. Many of my colleagues have Learner and/or Input in their top five Strengths, so we all have a lot in common. We love academia and sharing what we have learned with others who need to hear what we can offer. However, I personally feel rewarded to learn as much from my students as they may learn from me.
I was attracted to Communication when I took my first public speaking course. With each course, I was more enamored with the discipline. Communication is versatile and includes interpersonal, gender, listening, small group, nonverbal, verbal, perception, values, ethics, theory, self-concept, speaking in public, and so much more. It is impossible to exist without communication. Most every occupation requires effective communication skills. On a personal level, I deliver motivational presentations, chair committees, write books, and I have conducted hundreds of professional workshops and personal growth sessions. I serve as a guest lecturer in other faculty members' classes, as well as a peer evaluator for communication departments at other institutions.
M.A., Greenville College, Greenville, IL (In Progress)
M.A., Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, IL, 1990, Summa Cum Laude
B.S., Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, IL, 1989, Magna Cum Laude
A.A., Kaskaskia College, Centralia, IL, 1986, Summa Cum Laude
Communication Department Head; Business and Promotions Manager, WGRN 89.5 Radio
National Communication Association
Central States Communication Association
Religious Communication Association
Illinois Speech and Theater Association
Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society
Phi Kappa Phi National Honors Society
Delta Kappa Gamma Society International
Kappa Delta Pi, the Education honors society, charter member
Co-author, Questions of Communication: A Practical Introduction to Theory, 3rd Ed., published by Bedford-St. Martin's
Managing Interpersonal Communication—GOAL Course Teachers’ and Students’ Manual
Organizational Communication—GOAL Course Teachers’ and Students’ Manual
Director of Business and Promotions -- WGRN Radio
--Fall 1994 - present
GOAL (Adult Degree Completion Program) Instructor and Developer of Two Courses
--1995-present
Head of the Communication Department
--August 1996-present
Co-Chair, Media Promotions/Digital Media Major
Faculty Review Committee
--Fall, 2006-present