Professor in the School of Communication Studies at Ohio University, Dr. Beck has also served as President of the National Communication Association and Central States Communication Association, Editor of Communication Yearbook (volumes 30-33) , and Book Review Editor for Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives . In addition to numerous book chapters, journal articles, and conference presentations, Beck has published four award-winning books in the areas of health communication and gender: The lynching of language: Gender, politics, and power in the Hill-Thomas hearings (co-edited with Sandra Ragan, Lynda Kaid, and Dianne Bystromm, University of Illinois Press), Partnership for health: Building relationships between women and health caregivers (co-authored with Sandra Ragan and Athena DuPre, Erlbaum), Communicating for better health: A guide through the medical mazes (Allyn & Bacon), and Narrative, health, and healing: Communication theory, research, and practice (co-edited with Lynn Harter and Phyllis Japp, Erlbaum).
In addition to considerable service as a reviewer, unit officer, and association committee member, Beck has worked on a number of editorial boards, including Health Communication , Journal of Applied Communication Research , Research on Language and Social Interaction , Journal of Health Communication , Women’s Studies in Communication , and Communication Studies . Beck founded chapters of Lambda Pi Eta at Wilkes University and Ohio University and, combined, served as Chapter Advisor for 19 years.
Released in 2015, Beck’s most recent book, Celebrity Health Narratives and the Public Health (with co-authors Nate Simmons, Stellina Chapman, Kelly Tenzek, and Stephanie Ruhl, McFarland), bridges her work in health communication, popular culture, fandom, and media audiences. Her most recent book, the Routledge Handbook of Communication and Bullying (2018; co-edited with Richard West), emerged from her NCA Presidential Initiative that included founding the NCA Anti-Bullying Project. She is currently working on a book project on soap opera fan narratives with the working title, My World Just Stopped Turning: Intersections between Soap Opera Fandom and Concurrent Life Narratives .