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Links in the following section connect to brief biographical summaries. The telephone area code is 423.
Department of Communication divisions are organized to better serve constituents. Contact division supervisors as shown below.
Biographical Sketches Judy Branson graduated from Jefferson High School, Dayton, Ohio, Southwestern Business College, Dayton, Ohio, attended Walters State Community College, and graduated from the Tennessee School of Banking in Nashville, Tennessee. She began working as Executive Aide in the Department of Communication at ETSU in March 2001. Dan Brown, Ph.D. Dan Brown received his Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Massachusetts in 1982. After two years at the University of Evansville, he joined the faculty of the Department of Communication at East Tennessee State University in August, 1984. In 1989, Dr. Brown became Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, a position that he still holds. Dr. Brown teaches Department of Communication courses, such as Introduction to Mass Communications, Mass Media and Society, Seminar in Mass Communications, Communications Law, and Media and Crime, a course that is cross-listed with the ETSU Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology. Having taught for several years in the Instructional Television component of the ETSU School of Continuing Studies, Dr. Brown integrates multimedia support into most of his courses. Most of his courses are offered via the Internet. Dr. Brown’s research interests deal with the relationships between media and society. He has published works dealing with growth trends in media, learning from media, effects of television on family values, entertainment features in children’s educational television, content and uses of pornography, humor in mass media and college teaching, public communication about the causes of disease, children’s learning from media, and commentary and enjoyment of televised sports. Karen Brewster serves as our Costume Designer. She studied with Bud Frank in the 1970's and earned her undergraduate degree in Theatre from ETSU. Karen then earned her MFA in Costume, Mask, and Make-up Design from Michigan State and subsequently worked for The Nebraska Theatre Caravan and Emmy Gifford Children's Theatre in Omaha, People's Light and Theatre in Malvern, PA and served in the capacity of Resident Costume Designer at Barter Theatre for several seasons. Favorite Barter designs include Guys and Dolls, Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof, The Foreigner, Greater Tuna, and Noises Off. Karen's mask design work was recently featured in the Barter Theatre production of Hound of the Baskervilles. Karen is married to Richard Major, director of Theatre at Milligan College, and they have two children, Will and Shannon Elizabeth. Professor Cronin holds the position of Artist in Residence. Pat is no stranger to anyone who watches network television or who goes to the movies. Pat has appeared on numerous television shows including Home Improvement, Seinfeld, Family Matters, Knots Landing, LA Law, Hill Street Blues, Mad About You, Cheers, Star Trek the Next Generation, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Wonder Years, The Magnificent Seven and more. He has also appeared in the films Breast Men, Rocky V, My Blue Heaven and Splash. Pat first came to ETSU as the Basler Chair of Excellence in 1998. Since then, he has returned to ETSU to teach a variety of classes including Acting for the Camera, Acting II and Dramatic Theory and Criticism. Pat has also worked closely with the Animation Department and the English Department, team teaching classes in those areas. Pat is a 1963 graduate of La Salle. He also has an MS Degree from Temple University. In 1998 he was honored by Temple as Outstanding Alumni, receiving a life time achievement award for his work in the arts and the community. Pat's recent direction includes You Can't Take it With You (2002), Our Town (2003), Crucible (2004), and Endgame (2005. A more complete list of directorial credits for Pat Cronin is located at http://www.etsu.edu/theatre/Theatre_files/playbill_list.htm. Lise Cutshaw is a Johnson City native and a longtime campus ETSU “inhabitant.” She started on the ETSU campus in first grade at University School and finished in 1981 with two bachelor’s degrees, one in physical education and music and the other in journalism and PR. She has worked as reporter and/or editor at the Bristol Herald-Courier, Kingsport Times-News and Johnson City Press and free-lanced for the Asheville Citizen-Times and Washington County, Va., News, as well as serving as a technical editor for the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. From 1990-1995, she came back to ETSU to teach newswriting and reporting and advise the student newspaper and yearbook. Cutshaw then spent seven years in public relations – as PR director at Union College, Kentucky, and client services director at The Corporate Image in Bristol, Tenn. -- and now is happily back at ETSU, teaching journalism, public relations and advertising graphics. Adriane Flanary Adriane Flanary is a full-time speech instructor for the Department of Communication at East Tennessee State University. She received her Bachelor of Arts, Mass Communication, in 2001 and a Masters of Arts, Professional Communication, in 2003 from East Tennessee State University. Adriane’s thesis was Images of Gender and Ethnicity on Fortune Global 500 Company Websites.Throughout Adriane’s educational experience she received a Tuition Scholarship from the College of Communication at ETSU, was a member of the Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society and a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority. She served as a research assistant from 2001-2003 and coordinated the 2003 Communications Day for the department. Bobby Funk teaches directing and acting at ETSU. He came to ETSU from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he taught for 11 years. Bobby did his undergraduate work at Western Carolina University. He then studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and received his MFA Degree in Acting and Directing from UNC-Greensboro. He has worked professionally as an actor and director Off- Broadway and in regional theatres across the country. He is the author of the book, The Audition Process: A Guide for Actors. Bobby has also written a number of plays including, Co. Aytch: Memoirs of a Confederate Soldier, The Dream Continues: The History of the Civil Rights Movement in America, River Rising: TVA and the Town of Butler, and Hear That Whistle Blow . . . Erwin Train A Coming. In the spring of 2000 Bobby was selected as one of eight directors from around the nation to direct a 10-minute play at the Kennedy Center as part of the American College Theatre Festival. Some of his more recent direction include Children of a Lesser God (2005), Brave and the Free (2004), and How I Learned to Drive (2002.) A more complete list of directorial credits for Bobby Funk can be found at http://www.etsu.edu/theatre/Theatre_files/playbill_list.htm Delbert L. Hall, Ph.D., is an associate professor at ETSU, where he has taught since 1986. He has a B.S. Ed. from Western Carolina University, a MFA from UNC-Greensboro and a Ph.D. from the University of Florida. Dr. Hall is a theatre generalist for the Division of Theatre. Over the years, he has served the Division of Theatre as scenic designer, lighting designer, technical director, and Director of Theatre. In the summer he is the lighting designer for the outdoor drama "Trail of the Lonesome Pine" in Big Stone Gap, VA. Dr. Hall is also president of Hall Associates, Inc., an internationally known company for designing & rigging flying effects. In 1995, Dr. Hall taught himself Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), the language used to create Web Pages, and began helping departments throughout the College of Arts and Sciences to create their own Home Pages. From 1995-98, Dr. Hall directed The Center for Multimedia Development, a facility that offered more than 30 different workshops on the use of computers in the classroom and for instructional purposes. The Center for Multimedia Development moved under the auspices of the ETSU Office of Information Technology during 1999. Tammy Hayes has an Associate of Arts, General Study, Walters State Community College,1984, a Bachelor of Science, Broadcast Management and Psychology, from East Tennessee State University,1987, and a Masters of Science, Broadcast Management and Programming, from Indiana State University, 1988. • Hired as a temporary, full-time
instructor in the fall of 1989 Tom Headley is Associate Professor of Communication and serves as Director of the Radio/Television/Film Program. He also served as Acting Chair of the Department of Communication from 1988 to 1990. Throughout his tenure he has served on numerous departmental , college and university committees. He has also served on the university's Information Resource Council, Continuing Studies Program Advisory Council and the Task Force on Professional Service for ETSU's "Commission on the Future." He serves as consultant for numerous video projects and productions for the university and community. He is a contract producer/writer for local and national industries. He is the Executive Producer for OMNI, a weekly public affairs program "aired" over WSJK-TV. He is the author of the Construction Permit and $70,000 Federal Grant that originated the university's public radio station WETS-FM. He served as President of "Concerned Citizens for Public Television," an organization formed to promote and save educational TV by raising more than $250,000 to retain WSJK-TV in northeast Tennessee. He is Co-Producer/Writer of five major documentaries "aired" nationally via PBS/SECA satellite and on American Television's Satellite Community Programming Network. Segments of these documentaries have been aired on national broadcasts of ABC's GOOD MORNING AMERICA and EVENING NEWS, NBC'S DATELINE, BBC'S CHANNEL 4 and GERALDO. Most of his documentaries have been presented to the American Popular Culture Association, American Folklore Society, Tennessee Folklore Society, Tennessee Archivists, Appalachian Studies Conference, Anthropos Film Festival, Sinking Creek Film Festival and the School of Scottish Studies, Edinburgh, Scotland. He is currently co-producing/writing a documentary on traditional healing. D.J. Jessee D.J. Jessee graduated from East Tennessee State University Department of Mass Communications in 1979 with highest honors. She began her advertising career as a copywriter at Lavidge & Associates, Inc. in Knoxville, TN. In three years she was Creative Manager of the agency’s largest client and oversaw an $8 million budget. In 1987 she returned to Johnson City and opened her own agency. Ms. Jessee joined the faculty at East Tennessee State University in 1997 as an adjunct instructor in the Advertising Department. At the time she was the owner/president of Roberts & Associates, Inc., a full-service advertising and public relations firm in Johnson City. Roberts& Associates was an award winning regional firm and handled a wide variety of clients. Ms. Jessee is an active member of the community and has served on the boards of the Johnson City/ Washington County Chamber of Commerce, the Tri-City Metro Advertising Federation, the Heart Association, Volunteer Johnson City, and Historic Rocky Mount. In 1999, after thirteen years, Ms. Jessee sold her company and joined the advertising department as a full-time instructor. Since that time she has enlarged the scope and activities of the ETSU campus chapter of Ad Club and initiated the National Student Advertising Competition as a class. Her students travel annually to several national workshops and are involved in local and district Ad Club functions. She is the liaison between the professional Ad Club and the campus chapter and is the board’s Membership Chairperson. She is the 2001-2002 recipient of the Jan Phillips Mentoring Award. She has currently been given the responsibility of creating a new marketing strategy for the university and coordinating its marketing efforts. A native of Franklin, Tennessee, Dr. John M. King directs the public relations sequence and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in public relations and mass communications at ETSU. He serves as faculty advisor to the Public Relations Student Society of America with 40 members, provides academic and professional advising for more than 70 public relations majors and directs the public relations campaign for ETSU Summer School. King holds B.S. (Broadcasting, 1984), M.S. (Journalism, 1991) and Ph.D. (Communications, 1995) degrees from the College of Communications at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He has more than 15 years or professional experience in public relations and mass media. King has served as director of public relations for an international songwriting contest, an international photography contest, a statewide educational association and a regional community college with seven campuses. Media experience includes work as a daily newspaper reporter and photojournalist, television news graphics producer, magazine photo editor and chief photojournalist. He also served as editor of two educational journals, the Tennessee School Boards Journal and the Tennessee School Boards Bulletin. King’s research interests include media and corporate representations of gender and race, visual communication, public relations and political communication. He has presented 12 refereed research papers at international, national and regional conferences and has published five refereed research articles in scholarly journals including: John Mark King. "Photographic Images of Gender and Race in Fortune 500 Company Web Sites in the United States." Business Research Yearbook 7 (2000): (accepted, in press).Before joining the ETSU faculty in 1999, King taught photojournalism, public relations and mass communications theory at Pittsburg State University in Kansas from 1992-95. From 1995-1999, King was an assistant professor in the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge where he directed the visual communication core course, taught undergraduate courses in visual communication, editing for print and electronic media, web page design, media ethics, media law and photojournalism. At the graduate level, he taught courses in public relations, public communication and mass communications theory. At LSU, King also wrote proposals resulting in $190,000 in grants and gifts. He served as a faculty member for the Dow Jones Minority High School Newspaper Workshop, organized a national panel discussion on new media technology with CBS News and top new media educators, was selected as a faculty member for the C-SPAN Educators Workshop, and served as a consultant for an international corporation, a state agency and a local non-profit organization. King has several years experience and strong working knowledge of electronic digital imaging (film and flatbed scanners, digital still cameras, Photoshop), Web page design (Netscape Composer, HTML), computerized newspaper design and desktop publishing (Quark Xpress, Pagemaker, Freehand, Adobe Illustrator), non-linear digital video editing (AVID, Cineworks, D-Vision Pro, digital video cameras), desktop presentations (Powerpoint, Freelance Graphics), spreadsheets (Excel, Lotus 1, 2, 3), word processing (Word) and statistics (SPSS) An active member of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, King has served as National Chair, Professional Freedom & Responsibility, Visual Communication Division (1996-1997) and National Chair, Teaching Standards, Visual Communication Division, AEJMC (1993-95). He has organized nine panels for AEJMC national conventions. King also holds membership in the Public Relations Society of America, Society of Professional Journalists, AEJMC Visual Communication and Public Relations divisions, International Academy of Business Disciplines, Phi Kappa Phi and Kappa Tau Alpha. Amber Kinser is Associate Professor of Communication and Director of Women’s Studies at East Tennessee State University. She holds a Ph.D. in Communication from Purdue University, with an emphasis in gender and family studies, an M.A. from University of South Florida emphasizing relationship communication and performance studies, and a B.A. from University of South Florida emphasizing speech communication. Dr. Kinser has taught university courses in gender and communication, relationship communication, diversity in the workplace, women’s studies, family interaction, public speaking, persuasion, and communication theory. Her teaching has extended beyond the university to include community theatre for children and teens, and professional communication consultation. Dr. Kinser's research interests include interpretive and critical approaches to studying family interaction, sexuality and gender, and feminist theory and activism. Her interests also include masculinity studies and feminist parenting. She has presented numerous papers at national conventions; her publications include articles and book chapters on gender issues in employment interviewing, third wave feminism, global feminism, and family sex communication. Her invited addresses, performances and workshops cover a variety of topics, including gender equity in the classroom, diversity in the workplace, talking with children about sexuality, gender differences in communication styles, improving public address skills, feminist parenting, and using stage performance to creatively conduct and present research. Dr. Kinser is a Campus Diversity Educator and is the recipient of ETSU’s 2003 Patricia E. Robertson Diversity Leadership Award. She has received two awards for excellence in teaching from Purdue University and one award for outstanding feminist teaching and mentoring from the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, and Gender. Her other service efforts at ETSU have included Academic Advisor, Public Speaking Course Director, Student Speech Communication Association Advisor, Rainbow Alliance Advisor, Coordinator for ETSU's 1998-99 Program of the Year: "Break the Silence: Speak Out Against Hate," faculty facilitator for ETSU's "Take Back the Night March," member of the Campus Advocates Against Sexual Violence Advisory Board, and member of the President’s Commission for Women. At a national level, she is an active board member in the National Women’s Studies Association and the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, and Gender. Dr. Kirkwood is Professor of Communication and Director of Oral Communication Proficiency at East Tennessee State University. He has taught courses on interpersonal relations, critical thinking and argumentation, organizational communication, problem solving and creativity, conflict resolution, group communication skills, public speaking, and ethics. He has worked with ETSU’s College of Medicine in helping students prepare for medical school, with emphasis on critical thinking and interviewing skills. As the university’s Director of Oral Communication Proficiency, Dr. Kirkwood oversees a university-wide program to develop the communication skills of all ETSU undergraduates. A frequent speaker and trainer for business and non-profit organizations, Dr. Kirkwood has conducted training on time management, supervisory management, problem solving and creativity, stress management, meeting management, assertive communication, improving interpersonal relations, giving more interesting speeches, and making technical and research presentations. Dr. Kirkwood’s research activities span several areas, including storytelling as a persuasive and teaching strategy, problem solving and creativity, communication ethics, health communication, and employment interviewing. He has published research in such journals as the Quarterly Journal of Speech, Communication Monographs, Communication Education, the Journal of Communication, Rhetoric Society Quarterly, the Journal of Applied Communication Research, Text and Performance Quarterly, the Southern Communication Journal, and the Journal of Creative Behavior, as well as in professional development outlets, including Supervisory Management and Management World. Dr. Kirkwood earned the Ph.D., M.A. and B.S. in Communication from Northwestern University. Professor of Journalism, A.B.J. (1969) and M.A. (1970) University of Georgia; Ph.D. (1984) University of Tennessee; Awarded Commendation Medal by U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff for editorship of U.S. Air Force’s top newspaper (tri-lingual) worldwide (1966); professional experience in newspapers, television and public relations (1960-1969); author of articles on restaurants in Europe for gourmet magazines (1965-67); service activities on campus include Faculty Senate as well as founding advisor for campus chapters of Sigma Delta Chi and Student Public Relations Society of America; advisor for both campus newspaper and yearbook; author of newspaper articles and television scripts and articles in professional and scholarly journals; author of a history of the International Printing Pressmen and Assistants’ Union of North America (1984) and editor of a history of Tennessee’s newspapers for the state’s bicentennial celebration (1996). Herbert Mark Parker joins the faculty at ETSU after an acting career that has spanned 25 years in regional theatre, Off Broadway, stock and national tour. A New Yorker for more than 17 years, he has appeared on a wide variety of stages, including Nashville Shakespeare Festival, Tennessee Repertory Theatre, Nashville Children’s Theatre, Florida Repertory Theatre, Madison Repertory Theatre, Wayside Theatre, North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, Theatreworks USA, Huntington Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, McCarter Theatre, Clarence Brown Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, GeVa Theatre, Mill Mountain Theatre, Missouri Repertory Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, and Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, to name a few. Herb has also had the pleasure of teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Stephens College, Volunteer State Community College and Ohio University, where he earned his MFA from their Professional Actor Training Program after a earning BFA in Theatre from Stephens College. Dr. Roberts is Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication at East Tennessee State University, where he has taught since 1990. He previously taught and was Chairperson at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana and at Central College in Pella, Iowa. He received his B.A. in English from Davidson College, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Communication from Temple University. Dr. Roberts has served as a consultant to many colleges and universities in the East, South, and mid-West, interested in creating more effective and efficient communication skills instructional programs. He is the president of SPECTRA Incorporated Publishers, which specializes in listening tests and texts and currently publishes the major tests used to assess listening and speaking competencies. He is particularly active in the area of listening assessment and training in the corporate sector and served until recently as the Executive Director of the International Listening Association. Currently he is the editor of the Journal of the International Listening Association. Dr. Roberts has held a number of regional and national offices in professional organizations. He is a life member of the Eastern Communication Association and the International Listening Association , as well as a sustaining member of the Southern Speech Communication Association and the Speech Communication Association. He has co-produced listening assessment instruments, including the first video version of the Watson-Barker Listening Test. Dr. Roberts has published and presented more than sixty professional papers on a wide range of topics, written several book chapters with an emphasis on pedagogical issues, and has served as principle investigator on research and/or development grants that total in excess of $300,000. He also has published four books, Intrapersonal Communication Processes with Reneé Edwards and Larry Barker, Intrapersonal Communication Processes: Original Essays with Kittie Watson, A Support Manual for Em Griffin’s A First Look At Communication Theory, and a second edition of the latter work. Melissa Shafer joined the faculty at East Tennessee State University in the fall of 1999 and currently serves as the Technical Director / Lighting Designer for the Division of Theatre. Since receiving her MFA in Theatrical Design and Production from Southern Illinois University in 1985, she has taught at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida and most recently, Loyola University New Orleans. Melissa Shafer is the Director of Design at ETSU. She also serves as the Division's Budget Director, Lighting Designer and Technical Director. She has an MFA from Southern Illinois University and has taught at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida and most recently, Loyola University in New Orleans.
Her
freelance work includes designs for productions with Birmingham
Children’s Theatre, Birmingham Festival Theatre, The Civic Theatre
of Central Florida, Lambuth University, Kennesaw State University,
Manbites Dog Theatre, St. Louis Community College at Forest Park,
Southern Danceworks, and Theatre West.She has also done freelance
production work for such companies as The Mid-America Dance Company,
The National Black Touring Circuit, and Tulane University.
Melissa Shafer is member of the Tennessee Theatre Association, The Southeastern Theatre Conference, and the United States Institute for Theatre Technology and serves on the editorial board of Southern Theatre Magazine.
The ETSU Theatre company also produces Shakespeare in the Park in
cooperation with the Rogersville Renaissance Faire in Rogersville,
Tenn., each summer.
Dr. Norma Wilson has degrees in journalism, English, American studies and
education. She has taught in Missouri, Kansas, Nevada, New York and Oklahoma and
joined the ETSU faculty in 2004. She has headed a national newspaper industry
service publication and worked for newspapers in Missouri, New York and Florida.
Her teaching interests are news, feature and creative writing, investigative and
public affairs reporting, editing, magazine history and production, and media
criticism, especially media representations of women and minorities. Most
recently she has been senior editor of two national arts-related publications
and is seeking certification in environmental studies and nonprofit management.
She is also shopping around manuscripts for three young adult novels and often
leads workshops for aspiring fiction and magazine writers.
"Retired but not forgotten:"
Teresa Owens was the Departmental
secretary for the Department of Communication. She began working
at ETSU in January, 1995, for Special Education, as a temporary
employee, and was hired by the Department of Communication in April,
1995. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business
Administration from Tennessee Technological University. She
served as a member of the Undergraduate Advisement Improvement Task
Force and is a member of ETSU’s Professional Staff Association. She
lives in Johnson City with her husband, Greg. After giving birth to
twins in 2000, she resigned her position with the Department in
December to devote full time to her family. She is missed by all who
worked with her.
Pat Minor
was employed as
secretary at ETSU from July 1988 through June 2001. She is a graduate of
Elizabethton High School, where she was a member of the National Honor
Society. She has taken advantage of computer courses offered
here at ETSU. She assumed full-time duties in the ETSU Child
Study Center in July 2001.
Jack Gardner retired in 1999 as the
chief engineer for the Department of Communication. He had more
than 34 years experience in the design, specification, construction,
maintenance and management of commercial, educational, and
closed-circuit television and radio stations. He began at ETSU
in 1968 as an engineer working with PBS/WSJK TV. He came to the
Department of Communication in 1980. Mr. Gardner
maintained audio and video equipment in the radio and television
laboratories and services the student carrier-current radio station. His creativity and perseverance kept the department’s
sometimes failing equipment in working order for many years. He
helped the department plan for the future effectively and was
essential to the operations of the Broadcasting division He will be
missed! The department faculty and staff all wish him well.
Jerry Hilliard, who teaches
journalism and public relations, joined the ETSU faculty in 1979.
Dr. Hilliard earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in
journalism from Kent State University and his Ph.D. in communications
from the University of Tennessee. He was a faculty member and
student publications adviser at Kent State, Middle Tennessee and North
Texas State universities. He also held reporting and editing
positions with The Miami Herald, The Miami News, the Tampa Tribune and
The Knoxville News-Sentinel, and did public relations work for a state
public health agency in Florida and a school system in Ohio.
He earned Accredited Public Relations status from the Public Relations
Society of America. Hilliard is a member of the Society of
Professional Journalists, is active in the organization’s Greater
Tri-Cities Chapter, and serves as faculty adviser of the campus
chapter.
Dr. Hilliard also is adviser for all
journalism majors in the department. Besides supervising
internships, he regularly teaches Writing for Print Media I, Copy
Editing and Public Relations Practices. He oversees members of
his PR classes in two of the department’s biggest projects:
publishing a newsletter each semester for alumni, students, faculty
and staff; and arranging Mass Communications Day, an event that brings
300-500 high school students to campus each fall.
Dr. Hilliard’s research focuses on
journalism, and he co-authored two articles concerning headlines that
were published recently in Journalism & Mass Communication
Quarterly and the Newspaper Research Journal. In addition, he
was associate editor of A History of Tennessee Newspapers, published
in 1996 by the Tennessee Press Association. He also is the
co-author of “Pressing Issues,” a monthly column in the TPA
newsletter.
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