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CURRENT ACA LEADERSHIP
DR. Laurie Diles - Immediate Past President
M. Laurie Norton Diles, Ph.D. (University of Oklahoma) is the Chair, Department of Communication and an Associate Professor at Harding University. She joined Harding University’s faculty in 2011, following several years as an adjunct instructor. She has served as a speaker for women’s classes and programs in Brazil, Czech Republic, Germany and Slovakia, as well as in the United States. Dr. Diles’ research and occasional consulting has concentrated in the area of intercultural communication, especially intercultural adaptation.
Dr. Steven Hunt - PRESIDENT
Stephen Hunt is a University Professor and Director of the School of Communication at Illinois State University in Normal, IL. He currently serves as an American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) American Democracy Project (ADP) Civic Fellow for the Extending Empathy Project. He served as President of the Central States Communication Association (CSCA) in 2011. Dr. Hunt specializes in instructional communication, debate and communication pedagogy. His research reflects his interest in the pedagogy of civic and political engagement, persuasion, critical thinking and analysis and the assessment of communication skills. Dr. Hunt authored or coauthored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and books including Engaged Persuasion in a Post-Truth Era, Engaging Communication, Quantitative Research in Communication, and An Ethnographic Study of the Role of Humor in Health Care Transactions.
DR. Robert Becker - 1st Vice President and 2023 NCA Planner
Dr. Robert Becker is Assistant Professor of Speech Communication and Chair of the Agriculture, Business, Communications, and Equine Division at Northwest College Wyoming. Dr. Becker holds a Ph.D. in Communication from North Dakota State University, an M.A. in Speech Communication from Colorado State University, and a B.S. in Business Administration from North Dakota State University.
DR. Christina L. McDowell - JACA Journal Editor
Dr. Christina McDowell is a senior lecturer of marketing and management communication at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. She has professional experience teaching business/corporate communication and marketing related courses, serving in academic administration roles, delivering professional presentations and workshops in industry, and working in an integrated communication agency setting in account services. Her research interests start with communicative engagement and emphasizes actively investigating social, civic, economic, and moral problems in the areas of corporate communication, integrated marketing communication (IMC) as well as communication ethics by people and organizations. Dr. McDowell holds a Ph.D. in Rhetoric concentrating in Interpersonal and Organization Communication and Communication Ethics from Duquesne University.
DR. JEANNE M. PERSUIT - Treasurer
Jeanne M. Persuit, Ph.D. is a Professor of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Dr. Persuit teaches courses in integrated marketing communication and directs the graduate online M.A. Integrated Marketing Communication program at UNCW. She is the Director of Marketing and Communication for the National Drug Court Resource Center, housed at UNCW and funded by a $3.2 million U.S. Department of Justice grant. Her research interests are the rhetoric and philosophy of integrated marketing communication and communication ethics. She is co-advisor, with Dr. Bill Bolduc, of Pier601 Creative, the COM Studies Department's student-run IMC firm. She also plans the biennial IMC Conference at UNCW.
Dr. Jay Brower - Director
Jay Brower (Ph.D.) is Department Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Communication & Media Arts. In addition to serving as Chair since 2017, he has served in a broad range of institutional governance roles, including as an elected representative of the State legislature-created Faculty Advisory Board to Connecticut State Colleges and University Board of Regents. Dr. Brower’s current research interests are focused on the institutional work of department chairs in higher education, including the integration critical theory in higher education leadership, dual-role face negotiation (leader/peer), conflict management in academic settings, and the formations of institutional thinking.
Dr. Helen Sterk - Director
Dr. Helen Sterk (Ph.D. University of Iowa, 1986) is a Professor in and former Head of the Department of Communication at Western Kentucky University. Her research focuses on the intersections of rhetoric, religion, culture, and gender. Dr. Sterk’s collaborative interests include teaching across disciplines, coaching people internationally in presentation skills, and sharing her expertise with various colleges and universities. Dr. Sterk is past president and an active member of the Association for Communication Administration and the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language and Gender; former Executive Director of the Kentucky Communication Association; and has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of the National Communication Association. A productive researcher, Dr. Sterk's books include: Mothers and Daughters: Complicated Connections Across Cultures (co-edited with Alice Deakins and Rebecca Lockridge) and Gender, Culture and Physicality: Paradoxes and Taboos (co-authored with Annelies Knoppers).
pAST aCA LEADERSHIP
DR. SHAWN D. LONG - Past President
Dr. Shawn D. Long, 1972-2021
Dr. Shawn Long served as President of the Association for Communication Administration in 2017-2018. Past President Dr. Helen Sterk wrote the following tribute that was published in NCA’s COMM Notes:
“It is with deep sadness that I read of Dr. Shawn Long’s death in CRTNET. While Dr. Long contributed much to the universities he served, his contributions to the Association for Communication Administration were enormous. During a low point in ACA’s history, Dr. Long took over the presidency and brought the Association to robust health. His vision and work invigorated membership growth, website development, the ACA journal, stewardly use of our funds, and a robust connection with the National Communication Association. I was privileged to work alongside him as Vice-President and to continue his legacy. Through ACA, Dr. Long and I got to know each other well, respecting each other and liking each other. We tag-teamed multiple presentations for NCA and for NCA’s chair development summer series. His wisdom, good humor, and ability to inspire people made all the difference for ACA and made my life all the richer.”
Obituaries and Tributes:
https://exchange.uncc.edu/shawn-long-remembered-for-a-joyous-life-of-leadership-service-friendship/
https://clarklegacycenter.com/tribute/details/205503/Shawn-Long/obituary.html#tribute-start
https://news.kennesaw.edu/stories/2020/rchss-dean-shawn-long.php
DR. HELEN M. STERK - Past president
Dr. Helen Sterk (Ph.D. University of Iowa, 1986) is a Professor in and former Head of the Department of Communication at Western Kentucky University. Her research focuses on the intersections of rhetoric, religion, culture, and gender. Dr. Sterk’s collaborative interests include teaching across disciplines, coaching people internationally in presentation skills, and sharing her expertise with various colleges and universities. Dr. Sterk is past president and an active member of the Association for Communication Administration and the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language and Gender; former Executive Director of the Kentucky Communication Association; and has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of the National Communication Association. A productive researcher, Dr. Sterk's books include: Mothers and Daughters: Complicated Connections Across Cultures (co-edited with Alice Deakins and Rebecca Lockridge) and Gender, Culture and Physicality: Paradoxes and Taboos (co-authored with Annelies Knoppers).
Dr. Amy Koerber - PAST VP/Planner
Dr. Amy Koerber is Professor in Communication Studies and Associate Dean for Faculty Success & Inclusion in the College of Media & Communication at Texas Tech University. Prior to this appointment, from 2014-17 Dr. Koerber served as Director of the Technical Communication & Rhetoric program in the English department at Texas Tech. Since receiving the Ph.D. at University of Minnesota in 2002, Dr. Koerber's research agenda has centered around the question of how experts make effective arguments, particularly in the context of health, science, and medicine. Her most recent book, "From Hysteria to Hormones: A Rhetorical History," was published by Penn State University Press in April 2018. Her previous book, "Breast or Bottle: Contemporary Controversies in Infant-Feeding Policy and Practice," was published by University of South Carolina Press in 2013, and was awarded the NCTE Award for Best Book in Scientific or Technical Communication. In addition to scholarly publishing, Dr. Koerber has also been involved in multiple collaborative grant-seeking efforts and is always looking for additional opportunities to bring her expertise and experience as a qualitative communication researcher to partnerships with colleagues across the disciplines.
DR. SARAH STONE WATT - Past PRESIDENT
Dr. Sarah Stone Watt is Divisional Dean and Associate Professor of Communication at Pepperdine University. She served as Director of Forensics at Pepperdine from 2007-2017. She earned her Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Women’s Studies from The Pennsylvania State University and an M.A. in Communication and Journalism from the University of Wyoming. Her teaching and research interests include persuasion, argumentation, leadership, and the rhetoric surrounding race and gender in public controversy.
dr. Christopher lynch - Past treasurer
Christopher Lynch received a Ph.D. from Temple University in 1994 in rhetoric. He holds three master's degrees from St. John's University and Princeton Theological School. He authored Selling Catholicism: Bishop Sheen (1998) and the Power of Television (1998) that won NCA's Religious Communication Association's book award in 1999. He has published in the areas of visual communication and rhetoric, communication and popular culture, pedagogy and religious rhetoric. He is former national president of the Association for Communication Administration and currently on the editorial board of that association's journal. He has published extensively in the Department Chair by Jossey Bass Publishers. He also served as president of the New Jersey Communication Association. Dr. Lynch teaches courses in persuasion, theory, interpretive research methods, communication and culture, communication and conflict resolution, critical research methods, and motivational presentation skills.
Dr. Melissa Miller Chastain - past president
Dr. Melissa Miller Chastain is Associate Dean of the College of Social Sciences & Humanities and is Chair of the School of Communication at Spalding University. Her education includes a Ph.D. in Communication, Duquesne University; M.A. in English Literature & Theory, Duquesne University; and B.A. in English Literature from Westminster College. Dr. Chastain has been at Spalding since 2004, teaching undergraduate courses such as Public Speaking, Communication Theory, Leadership, and Senior Capstone as well as graduate classes such as Decision-Making, Change Acceleration in Organizations and Capstone Projects. Publications include “Learning Outcomes and the Importance of Stakeholder Feedback,” Communication Education and "Communication Ethics: Edith Stein," An Encyclopedia of Communication Ethics.
Dr. Alfred G. Mueller II - past president
Dr. Mueller currently teaches at Neumann University and has taught undergraduate courses in the university classroom for twenty years. This classically trained rhetorician is a nationally and internationally recognized scholar, having served as a Fulbright Scholar in Armenia and as a member of a Ford Foundation bridging project studying the relationship between Russia and the Caucasus. Prior to coming to Neumann, he served as Program Coordinator of Letters, Arts, and Sciences at the Mont Alto campus of Penn State University and as Chair of the Department of Communication Studies at Mount St. Mary’s University.
Dr. TOM Endres - past president
Dr. Mueller Past ACA President Dr. Thomas Endres (PhD, University of Minnesota) is the Director/Chair, School of Communication and Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Northern Colorado. He has served in this role since 2003. Prior to that, he was Professor and Chair of Communication, Division Director of Fine Arts & Humanities at the University of St. Thomas. He has served as an external reviewer for higher education programs including Concordia College, Normandale Community College, and Minnesota State University – Mankato and has been a consultant for civic organizations and businesses including Honeywell, 3M, and Medtronic. Dr. Endres’ research areas of interest include popular culture, rhetorical communities, leadership, group and organizational dynamics, family/intercultural/nonverbal communication, pedagogy, ethics, technology, and online learning. He received the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rocky Mountain Communication Association and the 2013 Administrator of the Year Award from the NCA National States Advisory Council.
DR. JANIE M. HARDEN FRitZ - PAST journal editor
Dr. Fritz is professor and director of the B. A. and M.A. programs in the Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies. She teaches courses at the undergraduate, M.A., and Ph.D. level. Dr. Fritz's research focuses on communicative practices that constitute, sever, and restore the ties that bind individuals to the institutions of which they are a part. She is the author of Professional Civility: Communicative Virtue at Work , coeditor (with Dr. S. Alyssa Groom) of Communication Ethics and Crisis: Negotiating Differences in Public and Private Spheres , coeditor (with Dr. Becky L. Omdahl) of Problematic Relationships in the Workplace (and Problematic Relationships in the Workplace, Volume 2), and co-author (with Dr. Ronald C. Arnett and Leeanne Bell) of Communication Ethics Literacy: Dialogue and Difference. Her most recent work focuses on the intersection of professional civility and leadership practices.
Dr. Fritz is editor-in-chief of Journal of the Association for Communication Administration, Listening/Journal of Communication Ethics, Religion, and Culture and editor of Qualitative Research Reports in Communication. She serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Communication and Religion, Review of Communication, Communication Quarterly, and Speaker and Gavel and serves as a guest reviewer for multiple journals.