Academic Leader, International Scholar, and professional coach.
I'm a tenured full professor at a Big 10 university, experienced academic leader, and board-certified coach. Over the course of my academic career, I have served as associate dean, head of the advertising and public relations sequence, and graduate chair in my college. I’ve also held leadership positions in the academy and on my campus, where I most recently chaired my institution’s Academic Planning Committee. In my various leadership roles, I developed a passion for helping faculty, staff, and students discover their most authentic selves.
My education prepared me well for academic leadership and coaching, including an undergraduate degree in advertising and public relations, an M.A. in journalism, an MBA with an emphasis in international business, and a Ph.D. in educational studies. I also participated in the Big Ten Academic Alliance (formerly Committee on Institutional Cooperation) Academic Leadership Program and the alliance's Departmental Executive Officer program, and completed the Scripps Howard Academic Leadership Academy at Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Journalism.
My research focuses on international advertising education, the impact of advertising on the economy and society, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and digital and social media strategy. More recently, I re-envisioned my research agenda to explore the strategic use of emerging media in sports media and communication. I am also interested in brands’ crisis response to the COVID-19 pandemic. I have published in the International Journal of Sport Communication, the Journal of Digital and Social Media Marketing, the Journal of General Education, Advertising & Society Review, the International Journal of Learning, and the Journal of Advertising Education. Click here to read some of my academic work.
I love teaching and learning (in fact, “learner” is my #1 strength of the Gallup Strength Finder) and teach a variety of courses, including undergraduate and graduate courses in advertising and public relations as well as sports media and communication. My teaching repertoire ranges from a large freshman-level survey course to a small writing skills course using online, face-to-face, and hyflex teaching formats. I teach a lot online and became a certified online instructor through the Online Learning Consortium (formerly Sloan Consortium).
Prior to my appointment as a faculty member, I was a media buyer, editor, and graphic designer for the Nebraska Athletic Department as well as a sales promotions manager in Germany. I came to UNL as a full-scholarship student-athlete on the women's tennis team, am fluent in German and English and also speak some French.
Specialties: advertising, public relations, marketing, online pedagogy, assessment, content strategy, sports communication, academic leadership, professional coaching.