Specialization: 19th-21st Century Rhetorical Theory; Argument Theory; Postmodernism
Education: Ph.D. University of Iowa; M.A., Colorado State University; B.S., Southern Illinois University.
Professional Experience: Ohio University: Charles E. Zumkehr Professor, Director, McNair Scholars (2003-08), Interim Associate Provost for Graduate Studies, Associate Dean, College of Communication. University of Maine: Professor, Student Services Coordinator, Associate Dean, Chairperson. University of Wisconsin: Assistant Professor. Colorado State University: Instructor, Director of Forensics. Kearney State College: Instructor, Assistant Director of Forensics. Past Editor of Communication Quarterly , Argumentation and Advocacy , Review of Communication; Current Editor: Quarterly Journal of Speech. Past President, National Communication Association, Past President, Eastern Communication Association. Director, 1993 Summer Conference on Argumentation. Former chairperson of the Public Address Division, Rhetoric and Communication Theory Division and Critical/Cultural Discourse Theory Division, NCA. Served or serving as an Editorial Board member for journals, including Communication Quarterly, Argumentation and Advocacy, Communication Studies, American Communication Journal, Communication Monographs, Quarterly Journal of Speech, Advances in the History of Rhetoric, Journal of Communication.
Publications: Author and co-author of over 70 articles in Quarterly Journal of Speech, Communication Monographs, Communication Quarterly, Southern Speech Communication Journal, Central States Speech Journal, Western Speech Communication Journal, Rhetoric Society Quarterly, Philosophy and Rhetoric, Rhetorica, Journal of the History of Ideas, Church History , and in Conference Proceedings and edited volumes. Editor or co-author of 18 books, conference proceedings, and instructional manuals, including 9 editions of Principles and Types of Speech Communication , three editions of The Pragmatics of Public Communication, and Business and Professional Communication .
Honors: Named Awards: Raymie E. McKerrow Chapter of the Year Award .Sigma Chi Eta, National Communication Association, 2006 (annual award to community college honorary chapter of the year). Communication and Journalism Raymie E. McKerrow Award. University of Maine, 1976 – (annual award to undergraduate major).
Honors: Lifetime Achievement Award. Critical and Cultural Studies Division, National Communication Association, Nov. 2009. Charles E. Zumkehr Professor of Speech Communication. School of Communication Studies, Ohio University, July 2009- present.
Centennial Scholar. Rhetoric and Public Address Division, Eastern Communication Association, April 2009. Wittenberg Fellow. Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH. Fall 2008.
Douglas W. Ehninger Distinguished Rhetorical Scholar Award. National Communication Association. 2006. Sigma Chi Eta Distinguished Service Award of Appreciation. National Communication Association, 2006. Outstanding Senior Graduate COMS Faculty Member. GradCo, Ohio University, 2005. Outstanding Student Organization Advisor Award. Student Affairs, Ohio University, 2002. Charles H. Woolbert Research Award. National Communication Association, 2001. Outstanding Service to the Discipline Award. American Communication Association, 1998. ECA Teaching Fellow. Eastern Communication Association, April, 1998.
David Descutner Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award. School of Interpersonal Communication, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 1997. ECA Research Fellow. Eastern Communication Association, April, 1997. Outstanding Alumni, Recognition for Exceptional Contribution. Montana State University-Billings, Billings, MT, 1996. Distinguished Maine Professor. Univ. of Maine Alumni Association Award, 1992. Distinguished Service Award. Eastern Communication Association, 1991. Distinguished Service Award. American Forensic Association, 1990.
Research Interests: 19th-21st Century Rhetorical Theory, Argument Theory, Postmodernism.
Teaching Specialization: Undergraduate: Argument, Persuasion, Rhetoric and Culture; Graduate: Rhetorical Theory and History, Feminist Rhetoric, Postmodern Rhetoric, Rhetoric, Culture and social Critique, Foucault, Discourse and Social Change.