I had the privilege of joining Department of Communication and Journalism in Fall of 1999 – one of the best things that ever happened to me.  Now a tenured Associate Professor, my research falls into two broad categories: psycho-social and communication processes that affect courtroom communication and personality factors that affect listening and information processing. My recent research in listening has examined the relationship between listening style preference and the need for cognition, learning style, and rhetorical sensitivity. My most recent legal publication examined the effect of juror attitudes toward suicide on the assignment of negligence and damages. Currently, Dr. Margaret Fitch-Hauser and I are co-authoring the text, Listening: Processes, Functions and Competency, due to be published by Prentice Hall in 2007.  As a research consultant, I work with attorneys and trial consultants on cases ranging from toxic tort to intellectual property.  Consulting allows me to connect my research to the “real world” and to bring that world back into the classroom via examples and guest speakers.

Education: University of Kansas, Ph.D.; Wichita State University, M.A.;
Auburn University, B.A.

Classes I teach:

COMM 2410 Small Group Communication
COMM 3100 Advanced Public Speaking
COMM 3110 Persuasive Discourse
COMM 4470 Health Communication
COMM 4700 Legal Communication
COMM 4800 Interpersonal Communication
COMM 7020 Empirical Approaches to Communication Research
COMM 7420 Seminar in Persuasion and Attitude Change

As you can see from the listing here, I teach a variety of classes.  My favorites address interpersonal and group processes, and connect with my research interests in law and listening.

Since being at Auburn, my family has grown to include my husband, Don, my daughter, Kathryn, and two fuzzy felines, Gilbert and Sullivan – all-in-all a happy household.  At three years old, Kathryn keeps us all on our toes and enjoys visiting mommy’s office and all her friends there. Family activities include gourmet cooking (Don), baking (Debra), and eating (Kathryn, cats, and friends) (Kathryn is the only three-year-old I know who likes carrots, squash, and zucchini as much as she does cookies!).  We do get out of the kitchen occasionally. When we do, we enjoy sailing, gardening, and tailgating at Auburn home football games. War Eagle!