Fall 2022 Newsletter
Greetings!
I am excited to share with you the many updates and celebrations of the Department of Communication Studies.
In 2020 George Floyd’s death shook Minneapolis, triggering a series of global and national protests against racism and for structural, institutional change. We held many listening sessions with our students and faculty members to work to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion as fundamental values in all aspects of our work and community.
We Have Some Introductions to Make
In fall 2022, we welcomed many new members. I first joined the department in July as a professor and chair of the department. I received my PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and JD from the University of Oklahoma. For over two decades, I have extensively examined the intersections of culture, language, health, and medicine in interpersonal and cross-cultural contexts.
My work on language barriers in health contexts has transformed the practice, training, and use of interpreters in healthcare settings. Clinicians have relied on my research to improve their communication with marginalized populations. More recently, I proposed a cultural framework that aims to explain and predict individuals’ health behaviors as well as institutional responses to health policies. The emphasis on social justice and equity that grounds the work of faculty members and students of the department compelled me to take the job. I hope to honor the tradition of excellence in the department by supporting diverse scholarship that meets the challenges of our times.
Carmen Sims joined us as our new administrator. Carmen has extensive administrative experience at the University of Minnesota, serving as an administrator for various programs around campus. In addition, she is a UMN alumna, receiving her master of public affairs in 2013.
Carmen has fascinating experiences working for the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to support refugees and marginalized populations. In one of her projects, she collaborated with the mayor of San Salvador, El Salvador, and the city council members to plan and deliver the largest cultural events in metropolitan San Salvador while serving as director of operations for the Department of Special Events at the City Government of San Salvador.
Deborah B. Yoon is a 2022-2023 Presidential Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Minnesota. Deborah received her doctorate degree from the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University. She identifies best as an interpersonal, family, and health scholar. As a researcher, she is interested in bridging the gap between theory and practice, because she believes that the role of research is to make it applicable for individuals who are not only in academia but those who can utilize research findings in practice. She works to explicate identity uncertainty as an experience that applies to different circumstances while working to contextualize it within other theories of identity and further explores the communication processes that shape or reflect these specific experiences.
If you stop by our office, you may see Becca Aceves, our undergraduate assistant. Becca is a senior and a communication studies major. During her off time, she enjoys taking walks with her dog, Scout, or a nice night watching movies with friends! She is excited to broaden her skills through this position as well as get to know the department better.
We also welcome our 2022 doctoral student cohort, who hold a wide range of life experiences and research interests. We are excited to join their journey as young, burgeoning scholars.
Back row (left to right) : Marceleen Mosher, A. Adams, Mark Schmutzler
Front row (left to right): Nou-Chee Chang, Suri Pourmodheji, Emily Scroggins, and Department Chair Elaine Hsieh (pictured far right).
Consider a Gift to the Tim Behme Teaching Faculty Award
Created in memory of alumnus and teaching faculty member Tim Behme, this award is dedicated to non-tenure stream teaching faculty members in the Department of Communication Studies. If sufficient funds are raised, this fund will be converted to an endowment.
Will We See You at the NCA Convention?
Some of our faculty, graduate students, and alumni will be giving presentations throughout the convention on November 17 -18, 2022.
Finally, we hope to share with you our many events and activities through this newsletter.
Warm regards,
Elaine Hsieh
Professor and Chair
Backed by the skills she gained as an undergraduate student, researcher, and intern at the University, alumna Delana Haglund (BA ‘19) feels prepared for any future endeavor.
Professor Emeritus J. Vernon Jensen celebrated a milestone in September. He joined the department in 1959 and retired in 1993.
Dr. Catherine Squires, associate dean for faculty & research at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and professor of communication studies, retired from the University of Minnesota this past August. We organized a tribute video to thank her.
