Specialization: Instructional Communication
Dr. Frymier is the Director and a Professor in Communication Studies at Ohio University. Before coming to Ohio University, she has served in several administrative roles at Miami University including Associate Dean of the Graduate School, Graduate Director in the Department of Communication, Chair of the Institutional Research Board, and as a certified Lean Leader. Additionally, she served as President of the Eastern Communication Association. Her primary area of research is instructional communication, which is the study of the teaching-learning process as a communication process. Much of her scholarship focuses on instructors’ communication behaviors such as humor, nonverbal immediacy, and clarity, and the impact of these on students’ engagement, motivation and learning. Her research on teacher-student relationships, humor, and student empowerment is widely cited. In 2018, Dr. Frymier and her colleague Dr. Marian Houser of Texas State University were recognized by the Instructional Development Division of the National Communication Association for their article on their teacher-student relationship. Dr. Frymier has published a textbook on persuasion, several book chapters and more than 30 articles in journals such as Communication Education, Communication Quarterly, and the Journal of Applied Communication. Dr. Frymier also serves on Editorial Boards of Communication Education, Communication Quarterly, Communication Research Reports, Communication Teacher, and Communication Pedagogy.