Faculty

Beth Talbert (M.A., Bowling Green State University, 1981) is a special instructor and the Communication Program Coordinator at the Macomb University Center. She teaches Public Speaking, Group Dynamics, Interpersonal Communication, Gender Communication, and special topics courses. Beth teaches at the main campus and at the Macomb University Center. She is the initial contact person for students interested in the communication program at Macomb, and advises both incoming and current students at the Macomb location. Prior to joining the communication faculty, Beth served as an administrator on campus in the Student Activities, Orientation, and Admission’s offices. She is actively involved in the community school district and is a frequent presenter and trainer on campus and in the community. For further details or questions e-mail talbert@oakland.edu.

David Lau (Ph.D., Southern Illinois University, 1983) is an associate professor and director of the communication program. Dr. Lau teaches course work in gender communication, performance communication and the capstone course for communication majors: Field Experience in Communication. He received the University Teaching Excellence Award as well as the Michigan Association of Governor's Board Award for teaching in 1991. His principal research interests are in communication pedagogy and the communicative possibilities of poetry. His favorite published article addresses issues in the gender communication classroom, Diversity: The Experience of Feeling Offended. For further details or questions e-mail lau@oakland.edu.

Shea Howell (Ph.D., Wayne State University, 1983) is a professor and chair of the Rhetoric, Communication and Journalism Department. Dr. Howell teaches Communication Theory, Multicultural Communication and Public Communication. She received a prestigious Poynter Fellowship in 1999-2000 as part of a model national project in multicultural communication and journalism. She has received two national journalism awards for her editorial writing and is a prolific speaker and workshop leader. Over the last two years, she has worked in high schools, emphasizing conflict resolution and multicultural communication. Her current work is on the rhetoric of globalism. For further details or questions e-mail howell@oakland.edu.

Thomas Discenna (Ph.D., Wayne State University, 2001) is an assistant professor. Dr. Discenna teaches a variety of courses including Persuasion, Philosophy of Rhetoric and Forms and Effects of Mass Communication. He recently was awarded the Faculty Adviser of the Year award from OU's Division of Student Affairs for his work with the university's student-run radio station, WXOU (88.3 FM). His research interests include rhetorical theory (especially early Greek, Italian Humanist Giambattista Vico and critical discourse theory), social movements (especially labor and the role of identity in movements) and the relationship(s) between rhetoric and mediated communication. He is currently at work on adapting his dissertation on graduate employee unionization rhetoric for publication. For further details or questions e-mail discenna@oakland.edu.

Kellie Hay (Ph.D., The Ohio State University, 2000) is an assistant professor. Dr. Hay teaches courses in critical communication theory, feminist cultural studies, multicultural communication, whiteness and performance studies. Her research is ethnographic and focuses on three sets of communication issues: how travel and global displacement effect the production of identities in differences; power relations and materiality; and the ways in which performance, the body and dance are ways of knowing. Dr. Hay works with local Arab-American communities. She has a deep interest in articulating the racisms and issues of displacement that shape the processes through which Arab-Americans negotiate multiple national attachments. For further details or questions e-mail hay@oakland.edu.

Valerie Palmer-Mehta (Ph.D., Wayne State University, 2002) is an an assistant professor. Dr. Palmer-Mehta teaches courses such as Communication Theory, Persuasion and Multicultural Communication. Her research and publications focus on the intersection of hegemony, ideology and the representation of gender, race and sexuality in the media. Her research interests also include 19th century political rhetoric, particularly that of marginalized groups. Dr. Palmer-Mehta’s research awards include a grant from GLAAD’s Center for the Study of Media and Society, for her collaborative work with Dr. Kellie Hay on the representation of anti-gay hate crimes in comics, and the Thomas Rumble Fellowship, under which she completed her dissertation on the representation of masculinity in the media. Her teaching awards include the Elizabeth G. Youngjohn Teaching Award from Wayne State University. For further details or questions e-mail vpalmer@oakland.edu.

Scott L. Crabill (Ph.D., Wayne State University, 2007) is the director of the Integrative Studies program and special instructor of communication. He has taught courses in public speaking, group dynamics, listening in communication, interpersonal communication, and advanced interpersonal communication. Computer-mediated communication and interpersonal communication are his primary areas of study with a mixed methodological focus. He researches white supremacist groups within computer-mediated contexts. His primary area of research is concerned with the language dynamics of white supremacist groups within computer-mediated contexts, such as chat rooms and discussion boards, specifically focusing on how members of a white supremacist discussion board monitor and construct a social identity within their online discussions. For further details or questions e-mail slcrabil@oakland.edu.

Janet McKenney (Ph.D. Wayne State University, 1992) is a lecturer in Communication and Organizations. She has also taught Interpersonal Communication, Small Group Communication, and Public Speaking. She is tenured faculty at Macomb College and is the coordinator of the Public Relations Degree program articulated with Oakland University. She also teaches graduate classes in communication and negotiation, change, and conflict for Central Michigan University. She is a public relations counselor and has done research in educational public relations. She has served in several offices in the National Communication Association. She enjoys motivational speaking to community and women's groups. E-mail: mckennyj@macomb.edu.

Page last updated on December 18, 2007, 8:52 AM.