Departmental News
Graduate Students Accept Faculty Positions
Several graduate students in the Department of Communication have recently accepted full-time teaching positions to begin during the 2008-2008 academic year. The department continues to successfully place its graduate students in professional and academic positions. Alumni of the department currently teach at, among other institutions, the University of Alabama, the University of Arkansas, the University of Oklahoma, Syracuse University, Seton Hall University, Villanova University, and Western Illinois University.
Bing Han has accepted a full-time tenure-track position at the University of South Carolina-Aiken. Han received her M.A. degree at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and her B.A. at Tianjin University in Tianjin, China. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in intercultural communication and assists teaching courses such as communication theory and method. Her ongoing research projects concern interpersonal and intercultural conflict management.
Nance McCown will become an assistant professor at Messiah College in Pennsylvania. McCown has her B.A. from Messiah and an M.J. degree from Temple University. Her research areas involve internal public relations/leadership, relationship building, PR education, and media effects on PR perceptions. Presentations/ publications include ICA, PRSA Educators Academy, and the Journal of Public Relations Research.
Belinda Stillion Southard has accepted a tenure-track position as an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Indiana University/Purdue University-Fort Wayne. Stillion Southard earned her M.A. at the University of Maryland and her B.A. in English at Willamette University. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Rhetoric & Political Culture, teaches a gender communication course, and assists the Center for Political Communication & Civic Leadership. Her dissertation research centers on the National Woman's Party.
Jennifer Vardeman will fill a tenure-track position at the University of Houston beginning in January of 2009. Vardeman received her M.A. degree at the University of Maryland and her B.S. at University of Texas. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Communication and teaches public relations techniques. Her current research concerns public relations campaigns, health and risk communication, cultural studies, and multicultural feminist research.
Xiaoying Xie has accepted a tenure-track position at the California State University at Sacramento. Xie received her M.A. in Communication from the University of Maryland and has a B.A. in Tourism Management from China's Fudan University. She is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Communication with an emphasis in Intercultural Communication. Her study focuses on conflict management, negotiation, and persuasion.
Shuo Yao will be an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Radford University, located in Radford, Virginia. Yao received her B.A. and M.A. degrees at Peking University, Beijing, China. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Intercultural Communication and Social Cognition. Her current research concerns the preferences of account strategies in conflict situations.
