Dorthy Lee Pennington CV
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Communication Studies Department
The University of Kansas
1440 Jayhawk Boulevard
Lawrence, Kansas 66045
Email: dpen@KU.edu
Educational Background
B.A., Rust College, with high honors, 1968; major, English; minor, French M.A., University of Kansas, 1970; Speech Communication and Human Relations Ph. D., University of Kansas, 1974; Speech Communication and Human Relations;
Dissertation topic: “Temporality Among Black Americans: Implications for Intercultural Communication”
Academic Appointments
Assistant Professor, The University of Kansas, 1974-80, in (1) African and African American Studies and (2) Communication Studies; . 5 in each department
Associate Professor, The University of Kansas, 1980 –
Relevant Academic Experiences
Educational consultant to the Department of Defense Race Relations Institute, 1976-84 Educational consultant to the Department of Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, 1977-84. My published model of culture was used for years in their instruction and training
Visiting faculty, Texas Tech University, 1988-89
Invited lecturer at The Loccum Academy, Loccum, Germany, 2001
Invited participant in the Oxford University Scholars’ Round Table, 2006, 2008, and 2012 Recently appointed to the national review board for Ford Foundation Fellowships, December, 2014
Honors, Awards, and Nominations
Recipient of a teaching award by the Teachers on Teaching Series of the National Communication Association, (national), 1997, with a convention program given in my honor, ” in recognition of outstanding contributions to the philosophy and methodology of the teaching of speech communication”
Honored as a Teacher, Mentor, and Intercultural Scholar by the Speech Communication Association’s Feminist and Women’s Studies Division, (national), 1995, with a prestigious Spotlighting convention program given in my honor
Recipient of a Steeples Service to Kansans Award, 1999
Recipient of a teaching excellence award by the University of Kansas Center for Teaching Excellence, 2002
Listed in Black Pioneers in Communication Research, published in 2006, a peer-selected listing of 10 living outstanding black scholars in communication, Sage publishers, (national/ international)
Honored as a Distinguished Alumna of a historically black institution, by the National Association of Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, Washington, D.C., 1981-86
Nominated as an Outstanding Young Teacher in the Central States Speech Association, 1978 Inducted into Phi Beta Delta International Scholars Society, University of Kansas, 2002 Inducted into the University of Kansas Women’s Hall of Fame, 2004
***Received a divisional top paper award at the 2008 National Communication Association Convention for paper titled “The ‘Rhetorical Condition’ as Mediator in the Response of African Americans to Perceptions of Terrorism: Condoleezza Rice asSymbol”
One of five female scholars in communication whose scholarship was recognized in a panel titled “Discourses of Stability and Change: Women of Color in The Field of Pedagogy, Intercultural and Rhetorical Communication,” at 2009 NCA Convention (national)
Listed as a Woman of Distinction by the University of Kansas, Fall, 2013, as a major contributor to humanities scholarship
Received the Distinguished Faculty Award, from KU Alumni Association Black Chapter, November, 2013
Chosen for induction into the Central States Communication Association Hall of Fame, April, 2015
Career Highlights:
- Co-author of one of the three pioneering books in interracial communication, 1976
- Received a Humanities Grant in 1982-83 to research Lawrence black church histories and cultural roles; distributed as a monograph, available in Spencer Research Library; this is still the definitive body of local and regional research on Lawrence black churches
- Co-authored a large Kansas Humanities Council grant for the AAAS department in 1983
- *Invited speaker to the Loccum Akademie, Germany, 2001, having no prior contact with institution
- Established, and current director of, the AAAS Undergraduate Research Forum for the public presentation of outstanding undergraduate research, 2004 -- present *Received a Lawrence Sesquicentennial Grant for research and public presentation of the roles of African American churches in early Lawrence- audience at the Lawrence Public Library was standing-room, only, 2004
- *Listed as one of 10 living African American communication scholars in Black Pioneers in Communication Research (in the U.S. and England), 2006
- *Invited participant in the Oxford Scholars Round Table, 2006 and 2008
- *Directed a top- 3 student research project for the KU Undergraduate Research Symposium, 2009
- *Invited appointee to the Editorial Review Board for Forum on Public Policy, the scholarly journal of the Oxford Scholars Round Table,2009 --- present
- *One of five female scholars in communication whose scholarship was recognized at the National Communication Association Convention,2009
- *Receiving continuous requests for reprint of 1985 lead article on intercultural communication; most recent request, Fall, 2010
- *Assisted St. Luke A. M. E. Church, Lawrence, and St. John A. M. E. Church, Topeka, in gaining registry on the State and the National Registers of Historical Places, 2002-2008
- *Among State of Kansas employees recognized by Governor Sam Brownback for service to the State of Kansas, 2012
Published Scholarship
Articles*
“The Temporal Element in the Perceived Lack of Aspiration in Black Youth,” Journal of Afro-Americans Issues, June, 1976
“Dorthy L. Pennington,” (theme: the circling wagons) in Changing the Players and the Games. J. L. Daniel, Ed. Speech Communication Association, 1995, pp. 41-43.
“Mainstreaming Interracial Communication,” in The Speech Communication Teacher, Winter, 1996-97
“A Culture-Based Approach to the Teaching of African American Public Address,” in The Speech Communication Teacher, Summer, 1998;
Books
Requested for reprint in The Art of Public Speaking, by S. Lucas, 7th edition “The ‘Rhetorical Condition’ as Mediator in the Response of African Americans to
Perceptions of Terrorism: Condoleezza Rice as Symbol,” The Howard Journal of Communications, 22(April-June, 2011), 123– 139, (lead article). This article was a long time in writing, requiring a review and integration of disparate bodies of literature, including that in rhetoric, psychology, and memory theory.
“Emic, Etic, and Andragogy: The Contributions of Nobleza Asuncion-Lande to Inter- Cultural Communication, ” Journal of Intercultural Relations, 26(2012); http:dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2012.08.006. This article was a long time in writing, requiring an international search of lesser-known publications of Dr. Asuncion-Lande, some of which were in Spanish and had less than accurate translations. Moreover, this article required pedagogical assimilation and extrapolation on my part after the sudden and unexpected death of Dr. Lande, which prevented my asking her to fill in the details.
“Barack Obama’s ‘Authentic Self’ As a Spiritual Warrior: Discipleship to the Apostolic,” Howard Journal of Communications, , DOI:10.1080/10646175.2014.986313; Journal hard copy, February, 2015. Likewise, this article was a long time in writing, requiring an assimilation of disparate bodies of literature. It originated as a monograph, but, due to a change of plans by the journal, ended up being reduced downward to a
25- page journal article. It required a synthesis of rhetorical, biographical, theological, and humanistic literature to develop the personathesis argued.
“Call and Response,” article in progress for Encyclopedia of African American Culture, Ed. by G. Early, 2015. (Correspondence with editor available upon request)
Crossing Difference . . . Interracial Communication, (co-author), Charles Merrill Publishers, 1976, one of three books that developed the field of interracial communication
African American Women Quitting the Workplace, (marketed to research libraries)
The Edwin Mellen Press, 1999- based on original field research, including oral interviews; still being sold through Amazon, still enjoying currency
Interracial Communication: Case Studies and Critical Incidents, manuscript completed; years in the writing, including the collection of case-study data and getting permission from different sources to use published cases. However, I will now expand the manuscript to address the current issues of relations between African Americans and law enforcement officials, an ongoing exigence; this will give the book greater marketability for both academicians and corporate and municipal policy makers.
Manuscript available upon request
Monographs
“The Histories and Cultural Roles of Black Churches in Lawrence, Kansas,” a research report based on grant-funded research, available at local libraries and at the Kansas Humanities Council, 1982; an extensive field -research project
Contributed Chapters*
- “Black-White Communication: An Assessment of the Research,” in Handbook of Intercultural Communication, ed. by M. Asante and C. Blake, Sage Publishers, 1979
- “Guilt-Provocation as a Strategy in Black Rhetoric,” in Contemporary Black Thought: Alternative Analyses in Social and Behavioral Science, ed. by M. Asante and A. Vandi, Sage Publishers, 1980
“Intercultural Communication,” in Intercultural Communication: A Reader, 4th edition, ed. by L Samovar and R. Porter, Wadsworth Publishers, 1985, lead chapter
“Marcus Garvey: Black Nationalist Leader,” in American Orators of the Twentieth Century, ed. by B. Duffy and H. Ryan, Greenwood Press, 1987
“Afro-American Women: Achievement Through the Reconciliation of Messages and Images,” in Seeing Female: Social Roles and Personal Lives, ed. by S. Brehm, Greenwood Press, 1988
“Interpersonal Power and Influence in Intercultural Communication,” in Handbook of International and Intercultural Communication, ed. by M. Asante and W. Gudykunst, Sage Publishers, 1989
“Culture as Symbolic: The Challenge of Intercultural Communication, in African- American Communications: An Anthology, ed. by J. Ward,, Kendall-Hunt Publishers, 1993
“Traditions in African-American Oratory,” in Voices of Multicultural America, ed. by D. Straub, Gale Publishers, 1995
“Strategies for Diversifying the Communication Classroom,” in Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the 21st Century: A Communication Perspective, ed. by S. Morreale And a Jones, The National Communication Association, 1997
“Contextualizing the Success of African-American Students in Predominantly-White Communication Departments,” in Promoting the Success of Students of Color in Communication Departments, ed. by J. Trent, the National Communication Association and the American Association of Higher Education, 2001
“ The Discourse of African-American Women: A Case for Extended Paradigms, in Understanding African American Rhetoric, ed. by R. L. Jackson, II and E. B. Richardson, Routledge, 2003
“The African Concept of Time and Its Relationship to Development Planning,” in Die Rolle der Zivilgesellschaft und der Religion bei der Demokratisierung Afrikas (The Role of Civil Society and Religion in the Democratization of Africa), ed. by
L. Imunde, Druck: Bertelsmann, Germany, 2003 (invited presentation outcome) “African Diunitality in the Discourse of Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Case of ‘I Have a
Dream,’ “ in The African Presence in America, ed. by J. U. Gordon, African World Press, Inc., 2004“
Oral , Research Stage Performances – Performance-as-Scholarship ( a 3-year stint)
“Sojourner Truth,” in History Alive! Program, through a grant from the Kansas
Humanities Council, 1993-95, over 50 research performances given in Kansas and elsewhere, “Sojourner Truth,” in Crossing Boundaries Scholars-in-Residence Program.
through a grant from the Kansas Humanities Council, 1995-96 * “Sojourner Truth,” performance at the national unveiling of the Monument
to the African-American Family, Savannah, Georgia, July, 2002
“Sojourner Truth,” performance, Hall Center for the Humanities, Open House, The University of Kansas, 2002
“Sojourner Truth,” performance, Hall Center for the Humanities fundraiser dinner for new building, 2003
“Sojourner Truth,” (invited) performance at the Dedication of Monument to the African American Family Ceremony, Savannah, Georgia, July, 2005
*These scholarly performances resulted in my being awarded a Steeples Service to Kansans Award by the U. of Kansas College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 1999
Book Reviews
“The Concise History of Woman Suffrage: Selections from the Classic Work of Stanton, Anthony, Gage, and Harper, Journal of Negro History, Gage, and Harper,” in Journal of Negro History Winter, 1981-82
“Understanding Self and Society: An Islamic Perspective,” Journal of Negro History, 1983
*“Woman, Race, and Class, et al” in Quarterly Journal of Speech, August, 1986 “Marcus Garvey Life and Lessons,” in Quarterly Journal of Speech, August, 1989 “Wild Women in the Whirlwind: Afra-American Culture and the Contemporary Literary
Renaissance,” in American Studies, Spring, 1993
“Rhetoric in Intercultural Contexts, International and Intercultural Annual, Vol. XXXII, ed. by A. Gonzalez and D. Tanno, in Journal of Language and Social Psychology, June, 2002
“Word From the Mother: Language and African Americans,” accepted for Journal of American Studies, Vol 48:2, (2008), 84-86
“Private Lives, Proper Relations: Regulating Black Intimacy,” accepted for Journal of American Studies, Vol 48:1, (2008), 102-104
Grants Received
$300 Faculty Development Grant from the University of Kansas, 1977
$1200 study and research grant from the University of Kansas Center for Humanistic Studies
$700 study grant from the University of Kansas Economic Development Program for College Teachers, 1980
$3,000 Public Research grant from the Kansas Humanities Council, 1982
$7200 academic programming grant from the Kansas Humanities Council, co-author, 1983
$500 instructional grant from C-Span, 1992
$350 instructional grant from C-Span, 1992
Faculty development grant from C-Span for study at C-Span headquarters, Washington, D. C. , 1992 Humanities scholar participant in a successful Kansas Humanities Council grant from the National
Endowment for the Humanities, 1994 – 96
Public programming and research grant from the Lawrence Sesquicentennial Commission, through the University of Kansas, $910.00, 2003-2004. This grant was for research and cultural performances on “The Role of African American Churches in Early Lawrence: ‘Citadels of Faith,’ Hope, and Community, 2004; Project Director and Principal Investigator; involved a public presentation, community coordination, and organizing and directing a public cultural performance
National Professional Activities
Chairperson, Speech Communication Association Black Caucus, 1974-76 Member, Speech Communication Association Legislative Council, 1976-79 Co-coordinator, Speech Communication Association Seminar Series, 1980 Member, Speech Communication Association Publications Board, 1993-95
Member, Central States Communication Association Teaching Awards Committee, 1994-95 Reviewer and Reviser of the National Teachers’ Examination in Speech and Theater, 1976-92 Writer of test items for the National Teachers’ Examination in Speech and Theater, 1976-92 Lecturer and consultant for the Department of Defense Race Relations Institute, 1976
Lecturer and consultant for the Department of Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, 1979-84
Reviewer and evaluator of the Department of Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute Curriculum, 1979-84
Member, Rockefeller team to study and make recommendations on cultural factors in minority Unemployment, 1978
External thesis adviser, University of the West Indies, 1991
Referee for the International and Intercultural Communication Annual, 1975-82 Referee for The Speech Communication Teacher, 1994-98
Member, Editorial Board for Communication Education, 1982-84 Member, Editorial Board for the Journal of Black Studies, 1976-94
Member, Editorial Board for the Howard Journal of Communications, 1993--- Manuscript reviewer for Communication and Critical Cultural Studies, 2007-- Evaluator of ERIC manuscripts for the Speech Communication Association, 1976-83External tenure and promotion evaluator in communication for numerous major universities
Chairperson, History Committee, Speech Communication Association Black Caucus, 1982-90 Member, Speech Communication Association Short Course Selection Committee, 1986-88 Evaluator of grant proposals for the United States Department of Education, 1989
Consultant to the United States Commission on Civil Rights on minority women in the labor force, 1989- 90
Appointed to Review Board for Ford Foundation Fellowships Program, (national), 2014
Regional Activities and Professional Leadership
President of the Intercultural Interest Group/Division of the Central States Communication Association; And major program coordinator for same, 2003-04
Major Convention Presentations*
“The Department Administrator and the Minority Student: What Responsibility?” SCA, 1975 “Black American Women: Communication Strategies of Cultural Integration,” SCA, 1976 “Teaching Intercultural Communication on the University Level,” SCA, 1976
“The National Teachers’ Examination in Speech and Theater,” SCA, 1976 “The Politics of Black English,” SCA, 1977
“Subculture and Communication,” competitive papers, panel respondent, SCA, 1979
“Black American Women: Communication Strategies of Cultural Integration,” ICA and SIETAR, 1979 “Black Americans and Decision-Making,” KRCA, 1979
“Symposium Conclusion of the 1980 Seminar Series,” SCA, 1980 “Black / Nonblack Communication,” panel respondent, SCA, 1980 “Theory-Building and Intercultural Communication,” SCA 1980
“Communication Styles: Studies of Intercultural Relationships,” panel chair, SCA, 1981 “Blacks and Women: A Comparison of the Rhetoric of World View,” SCA, 1981 “Language Attitudes and Blacks: Toward an Assessment,” panel chair, SCA, 1981 “Interpolation and Communication,” WSCA, 1981
“ Male-Female Issues in Intercultural Communication,” panel respondent, ICA, 1981
“The Essence of the Temporal Dimension in Increasing Understanding Among Peoples of Africa and the African Diaspora,” WCCDAAD,1981
“Dimensions of Intercultural Communication,” panel respondent, ICA, 1982 “Intercultural Communication in the Military,” WSCA, 1983
“Public Policy Issues in Black Education,” SCA, 1983
“Selected Papers in Intercultural Communication,” panel moderator, WCCDAAD, 1983 “Meeting the Needs of Women Heads of Households,” symposium chair, OIC, 1984
“Discontinuities Among African Diaspora Peoples and the Traditional African World View,” WCCDAAD, 1985
“Interracial Communication, 1974-84, a Research Review,” SCA, 1985 “Rhetoric of Nondiscursive Form; the Ritual of Voodoo,” SCA, 1986 “Research and Publishing Concerns for Minorities,” SCA, 1986
“Stride Toward Freedom: the Rhetorical Dimension,” panel respondent, SCA, 1989
“SCA Black Caucus: a historical Overview, ‘Where We’ve Been and Where We are Going,’ “ panel respondent, SCA 1989
“Removing Intercultural Barriers in the Classroom,” SCA, 1990 “Open Forum on Diversity,” SCA,1990
“The Rhetoric of African-American Women in Labor Unions,” SCA, 1991 “Communication Within a Culturally Diverse Population,” panel respondent, SCA, 1991 “The African American Family: A Confluence of Values,” ALA, 1991
“Making Sense in an Ethnic Community: Researching the Lived Experiences of African Americans in the 1990s,” panel chair, SCA, 1992
“African-American Issues in Research and Pedagogy,” SCA, 1993
“African-American Women Unionists: Rhetorical Strategies of an Emergent Leadership,” SCA 1993 “Malcolm X: in Whose Image?”, panel respondent, SCA, 1993
“Malcolm X’s Strategy for Betrayal by the Inner Circle: a Case Study in Rhetorical Psychology,” CSCA, 1993-
“African-American Labor Movement Activity: Diunitality of Strategies,” SCA, 1994 “Multicultural Communication Training,” the Business Context,” SCA, 1994
“Graduate Education in Intercultural Communication for the 21st Century,” panel discussant, SCA, 1994 “Issues of Authority and Representation in Intercultural Communication,” CSCA, 1994
“African-American Labor Rhetoric: an Exploration of Paradigms,” NAAAS, 1995
“The Complementarity Between African-Centered and Burkean Frames: Could It Be?”, co-authored, SCA, 1995
“Becoming Successful in the Academy,” panel discussant, SCA, 1995
“Interact With the Editors of the Howard Journal of Communications,” panel discussant, ECA, 1995 “In the Tradition of Sojourner Truth: African American Women’s Search for Meaning,” NAAAS, 1996
“The Black Female Potato: a Metaphorical Exploration of Black Women Leaving the Workplace, NAAAS, 1997
“Nineteenth Century Black Male-Female Communication: Case Analyses of Courtship Rituals,”
ASALH, 1997
“The Rhetoric of Black Hair: Exploring a Theoretical Framework,” panel respondent, NCA, 1997 “Rhetoric and Race: Functional Applications of Theory in African American Discourse,” panel respondent, NCA, 1997
“Mainstreaming Interracial Communication,” program coordinator and presenter, NCA, 1997 “Communication in the 21st Century: an AfricanAmerican Perspective,” PACA, international, Japan, 1998,
“Graduate Student Research in Intercultural Communication: an Intersection Between Theory and Practice,” panel respondent, PACA, international, Japan, 1998,
“Scholarship on African-American Communication and Culture: Lessons Learned, New Visions of Interpersonal and Language Studies,” NCA, 1998
“An Intercultural Response to the ‘Coming Race War in America” Applied Perspectives,” panel respondent, NCA, 1998
“African American Women Exiting the Workplace: Does the Center Still Hold?”, NAAAS, 1998 “Interracial Communication: Theoretical Perspectives, Relationship Building, and Action Plans,” program planner, presenter, and moderator, NCA, 1999
“The National Communication Association and the Field of Communication in the United States,” University of Natal, Durban, South Africa, international, 1999
“Race-Based Law Clerks’ Hiring Versus School-Based Hiring: a Political and Economic Perspective,” panel moderator, NAAAS, 1999
“Racial Identity, Power, and Empowerment in South Africa: Constructing, Reconstructing, and Negotiating Images and Spaces,” NCA 2000
“African- American Women’s Response to Ambivalent Dialogues and Dialectics,” program coordinator, chair and presenter, NCA, 2000
“Reflections on NCA South African Study Tour: Encouraging Diversity and Promoting New Relationships, NCA, 2000
“Takin’ It to the Streets: Actively Engaging African American and African Communities,” panel respondent, (substitute for MolefiAsante), NCA, 2000
“Comparative Afrocentric Epistolary Discourse: Responses to Racism and Hatred,” NAAAS, 2000 “Sistertalk: Issues Impacting Women of Color,” program moderator, NAAAS, 2000 “Radical(izing) Roots in Black and White African and European American Scholars Dialogue on Rhetorics of Racial Transformation,” NCA, 2001
“Millennium Issues in Interracial Communication: Newspaper Accounts,” NAAAS, 2001 “The Concept of Time and Its Relationship to Development Planning,” The Loccum Academy, Loccum, Germany, 2001, invited presenter
“Roundtable Discussion: Intercultural Communication Division: ‘The Development of Intercultural Communication from Our Own Perspectives, Central States Communication and Beyond,’ “ CSCA, 2002
“The Development of Intercultural, Interethnic, and Interracial Communication in the United States: Global Perspectives Through a Nigerian Model, PACA, 2002
“Panel of Distinguished Scholars: Communication and Media Studies in East Asia and the U.S.,” PACA, 2002, invited presenter
“Moving to Sacred Ground Through Narratives, Verse, and Songs: Reconciling Rhythms and Discord in the African American Diaspora,” NCA 2002
“Students of Color and Teaching/Learning Strategies in the Communication Course: Essays and Instructional Practices,” NCA, 2002
“Interracial Communication Identity Issues,” NCA, 2003
“Intercultural Communication Theory and Research: New Wine in Old Bottles or a Quest for New
Paradigms?”, CSCA, 2004, on a panel of noted intercultural scholars, titled “Central States Rocks? Perspectives Through Intercultural Lens”
“Interpolation, Tropes and Guises: Knowing Our Way,” NCA, 2004, on panel of noted theorists in communication
“Communication At The Heart of Everything- An Antithetical Approach,” CSCA, 2005 “Getting to the Heart of the Undergraduate Research Conference,” CSCA, 2005
“How Am I? How Do I Know? Spirituality as a Site of Epistemology,” NCA, 2005
”It was the Best of Times; It Was the Worst of Times: A Tale of Two Hurricane Katrina ‘Rescues’ and a Communication Analysis of the Ultimate Meaning of ‘Home,’ “ NAAAS, 2006
“Muted Rhetorical Frames: Diriment Responses and Dirges in Relief Efforts for Hurricane Katrina,” Part I, CSCA, 2006
“The ‘Rhetorical Condition’ as Mediator in the Response of African Americans to Perceptions of Terrorism: Dr. Condoleezza Rice, as Symbol,” Oxford University Scholars’ Round Table, 2006, Oxford, England
“Muted Rhetorical Frames: Diriment Responses and Dirges in Relief Efforts for Hurricane Katrina,” Part II, NCA, 2006
“Crossing Invisible and Visible Cultural Boundaries,” WSSA, 2007 “African American Social Science Themes,” WSSA, 2007
“Navigating the Academy: Africans and African Americans in Higher Education,” WSSA, 2007 “Communication Activist Strategies of Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes, CSCA, 2008
“The ‘Rhetorical Condition’ as Mediator in the Response of African Americans to Perceptions of Terrorism: Condoleezza Rice as Symbol,” NCA, 2008- (top paper award)
“Challenges and Opportunities of Intercultural Communication in Globalization: Implications for Academe, Business and Industry, Public and Private Entities in the Midwest” CSCA., 2009
“Barack Obama as Potential Trickster: Audience Politics in the Reverend Jeremiah Wright Incident,” CSCA, 2009
“Navigating the Tensions Between Stability and Change in Black/African American Scholarship,” NCA, 2009
“Personal Identity and Religious Symbolism in ‘Crisis-Race’ Speeches: An Analog Between Book T. Washington and Barack Obama,” NCA 2009
“Back Down Memory Lane: Explorations of Absence, Presence, and Institutionalized Memory,” Panel Respondent, NCA, 2009
“Rhetorical and Cultural Outbursts: the New Civility?” CSCA, 2010 “Round Table in Honor of Nobleza Lande,” NCA, 2010
“Transcending Bridges: Post-racial Politics in a Race(d) World,” NCA, 2010
“ ‘Thy Kingdom Come’: Situating Barack Obama’s Rhetoric in an Apostolic Context,” NCA 2010 “Where Do We Go From Here?: President Barack Obama at the Crossroad,” NCA 2010 “Contested Spaces, Mobilities, and Psychogeographies: Cultural and Rhetorical Framing,” CSCA, 2011
“Powerful Voices: An Exploration of Black Political and Prophetic Rhetoric,” panel chair, NCA, 2011
“Barack Obama, as Seen in the Arab World: Toward a Cross-Cultural Understanding,” paper, NCA, 2011
“Delayed Voice(s): Memory, Terror, Trauma and the Un(Imaginary) in Black Women’s Discourse,” paper, NCA, 2011
“The Discourse of Terror and Trauma in African Americans,” NAAAS, 2012
“The Untold Story: Navigating Victimage in the Wake of Terror,” Oxford University, Oxford, UK, 2012
“Cultural Rhetorics and Problematizing Globalization: The Etic and Emic of Barack Obama’s Speech in Cairo Egypt,” NCA, 2012
“At the Crossroads: A Critical Examination of Black Women Negotiating Media, Health, Gender and Religion in Performing Identities,” Panel Respondent, NCA, 2012
“Discourse of Racial Empowerment and Blackness: Exploring African American Rhetorics,” CSCA, 2013
“A Synoptic Social History of the NCA Black Caucus: From Bedroom Community to Center Stage,” NCA, 2013
“Markers of Terror – Based Trauma in African American Women’s Discourse: Selected Case Studies, NCBS, 2014, paper presenter
“Markers of Terror – Based Trauma in African American Women’s Discourse: Selected Case Studies, NCBS, 2-14, Program Chair
“Elevating Intercultural Communication: Past, Present, and Future,” CSCA, 2014 “Elevating from Problems to Solutions: Transformative Theory and Methods in Interracial and Diversity Communication, “ CSCA, 2014
“The Past in the Present: Lessons Learned in Historicizing a Micro Organization Entity,” NCA, 2014
“Managing the Past and Embracing Presence: Faculty Learning Community On Teaching Controversial Topics”, NCA, 2014 - pre-convention seminar Key to Acronyms for the Professional Organizations Listed Above: SCA – Speech Communication Association
ICA – International Communication Association NCA – National Communication Association NCBS – National Council of Black Studies ALA – African Literature Association
WSCA – Western States Communication Association CSCA – Central States Communication Association ESCA – Eastern States Communication Association PACA – Pacific and Asian Communication Association
SIETAR – Society for Intercultural Education, Training, and Research
WCCDAAD – World Congress on Communication and Development in Africa and the African Diaspora
NAAAS – National Association of African American Studies OIC – Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America KRCA – Kansas Regional Council on Aging
ASAALA – Association for the Study of African American Life and History WSSA- Western Social Science Association
Workshops Led
Context Areas: Intercultural, Interracial, and Interpersonal communication Agencies, Organizations, and Institutions University of South Florida
California State University at Dominguez Hills Jackson State University, Mississippi Midwestern Regional Conference of City Managers
Midwestern Regional Conference of the National Organization for Women University of Kansas School of Nursing
State of Michigan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations Intercollegiate Association of Women’s Studies National Convention La Harpe United Methodist Church, New Orleans, Louisiana Ninth Street Baptist Church, Lawrence, Kansas
St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church, Lawrence, Kansas State of Kansas Department of Human Resources State of Kansas Federal Public Defenders Association
Guest Lecturer, Invited Speaker
Context Areas: Intercultural communication, interracial communication, women’s studies, African American studies
Agencies, Organizations, and Institutions
The Loccum Academie, Germany Buena Vista College, Iowa Hope College, Michigan Georgia State University
California State University at Dominguez Hills Jackson State University, Mississippi St. Mary’s College, Kansas
Kansas Regional Corrections Officers Association Kansas State Penitentiary
Kansas State Women’s Penitentiary Kansas State Department of Education Numerous school districts in Kansas Various Historical Societies
Speaker at various churches
Sister-to-Sister Organization, Topeka
American Association of University Women, Kansas
Humanist presenter for the Kansas Humanities Council, numerous times
Service
Department
Associate chairperson, African and African American Studies Department, 1975-87 Director of Undergraduate Studies, Communication Studies, 1981-82
Coordinator of Cases in Human Relations Courses, Communication Studies, 1975-86 Coordinator of Lecture Series, African and African American Studies, 1977-85
Member, Undergraduate Academic Affairs Committee, Communication Studies, 1978-86; 1993-94
Coordinator of Student Fora, African and African American Studies, 1983-88 Coordinator of Career Fairs, African and African American Studies, 1983-88 Member, search committee for Department chair, Communication Studies, 197Member, Grievance Committee, Communication Studies, 1986-88, and 1989-2000; Chair, Grievance Committee, Communication Studies, 2003---
Convener of African American Studies Subject Committee, African and African American Studies, 1986-93
Member, Faculty Evaluation Committee, African and African American Studies, 1993 Chair, Faculty Evaluations Committee, African and African American Studies, 2004--- Member, Curriculum Committee, African and African American Studies; Chair,2000--- Member, Self Study Committee, African and African American Studies, 1997
Member, Faculty Tenure Review Committee, African and African American Studies, 1995--- Member, search committee for Department chair, African and African American Studies, 1996 Member, African American Studies Enhancement Committee, African and African American Studies, 1994
Member, Graduate Studies Committee, Communication Studies, 1994-96 Member, Vision Committee, African and African American Studies, 1996-97 Member, Ad Hoc Diversity Hiring Interest Group, Communication Studies, 1998Member, search committees, Communication Studies, 1998-2004
Representative Preparing Future faculty, Communication Studies, 2001--- Member, search committees, African and African American Studies, 2001-2004
Founding Coordinator and Research Director of Undergraduate Research Forum, African and African American Studies, 2004---present
Division
Chairperson, Speech and Drama Minority Faculty and Student Recruitment Committee, 1974-88
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Member, Committee on Promotion and Tenure, 1976-78 Member, Committee on Undergraduate Advising, 1975-77 Member, Search Committee for the Dean, 1975
Member, Committee on Graduate Studies, 1993-96 Summer Student Orientation Speaker, 1994 Member, Ad Hoc faculty Diversity Committee, 1999
Member, Committee on Undergraduate Studies and Advising, 2000-2003 Member, Committee on Curricular Changes, 2001-2002
Speaker for Dean’s forum on Faculty Diversity Hiring, 2001
University
Mentor for women in University Scholars Program, 1983-87
Mentor for students in the Ronald McNair Program, School of Education, 1995-2012 Recruiter for Faculty Affiliates Program, 1982-86
Chairperson of search committee for the Director of the Supportive Education Services, 1975 Member, Langston Hughes Search Committee, 1980s
Member, Affirmative Action Advisory Committee, 1984-86 Member, Residential Programs Advisory Board, 1984-86 Seminar leader for the Office of Minority Affairs, 1977-78
Workshop leader for the Office of Student Organizations and Activities, 1980s Adviser to Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, 1977-88
Adviser to the Association of Black Graduate Students, 1984-87
Chairperson of Black Faculty and Staff Council, 1981-82; co-chairperson, 1996-97 Chairperson of Black Faculty and Staff Council Student Affairs Committee, 1986-87 Workshop leader for University Housing Staff, 1990-94
Speaker for KU branch of the Lawrence Alliance Member, Faculty Compensation Committee, 1994-97
Member, Provost Office’s General Educational Goals Assessment Faculty Committee, 1995-2002
Member, Provost Office’s General Educational Goals Evaluation and Revision Committee, 1999-2000 Member, Graduate School Minority Scholarship Committee, 1999-2002
Speaker for the Office of Admissions’ Minority Student Orientation and Endowment Scholars Program, 1996---Member, Faculty Council, 2000-2003
Member, Academic Procedures and Policies Committee, 2000-2003 Mentor for Hawk Link Program,2000-
** Member, Brown v. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Program Planning Committee, 2003-2004, and for 60th anniversary, 2014
Speaker for the Hall Center for the Humanities, 2002-2003
Member, Provost’s Committee for the design of the Multicultural Resource Center, 2004--- Member, faculty and staff committee on ways to improve Spencer Research Library, 2004 Member, search committee for counselor for Counseling and Psychological Services, 2004, 2005 Member, KU Energizing the Educational Environment Committee, 2010- 2011
Member of search committee for assistant provost for diversity, 2011
State of Kansas/Community
Member, Advisory Board of Kansas Folk Life Culture, 1982 - 1984
Member, Board of Directors for Kansas Children’s Service League Adoption Program Member, Advisory Board for Kaw Valley Girl Scouts Association, 1983 - 1985
Humanist Scholar for the Kansas Humanities Council, including portrayal of Sojourner Truth, 1975 - 1996
Member, Elsie Randolph Foundation Scholarship Committee, 1999--- Member, Menninger Psychiatric Foundation, 1986---
Speaker for The Brown Foundation, Topeka, 1990s
Educational consultant for successful Humanities grant for City of Ft. Scott, Kansas, 2005 Educational consultant for successful Humanities grant for Lawrence, Kansas oral history project, 2005
Music organizer and director for choral group that performed at the State and local levels, Honoring Kansas Statehood, (by request),2007, Topeka, KS
Speaker, Performer for the 150th anniversary of the Ninth Street Baptist Church, Lawrence, 2013
National and Regional Professional Activities
Chairperson, Speech Communication Association Black Caucus, 1974-76 Black Caucus Historian, 1982- 95; 2008 --
Member, Speech Communication Association Legislative Council, 1976-79 Member, Speech Communication Association Committee on Committees, 1978-79 Co-Coordinator, Speech Communication Association Seminar Series,1980 Initiator of Black Caucus Pioneer Awards, 1983
Member, Speech Communication Association Publications Board, 1993-95
Member, Central States Communication Association Teaching Awards Committee, 1994-95 Reviewer and Reviser of the National Teachers’ Examination in Speech and Theater, 1976-92
Writer and evaluator of test items for the National Teachers’ Examination in Speech and Theater, 1976- 92
Lecturer, consultant, and program evaluator for the Department of Defense Race Relations Institute, 1976-77
Lecturer, consultant, and program evaluator for the Department of Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, 1979- 84
Evaluator of educational grant proposals, (national) 1989
Chair of the Central States Intercultural Communication Division, 2004
Distinguished Memberships
Inducted into the Consortium of Women Doctors, Ltd., 1996, national; a group of individuals chosen on the basis of accomplishments in their profession, contributions to the lives of young people, and community service
Inducted into Phi Beta Delta International Scholars Society, 2002 Inducted into the University of Kansas Women’s Hall of Fame, 2004 Chosen in the University of Kansas Women of Distinction group, 2013
Distinguished Awards and Recognitions
Listed in the 2006 book, Black Pioneers in Communication Research, by R. L, Jackson, II
and S. B. Givens, a peer-selected listing, (international); other scholars included are: Molefi K. Asante, Donald E. Bogle, Hallie Quinn Brown, Melbourne Cummings, Jack L. Daniel, Oscar H. Gandy, Stuart Hall (England), Marsha Houston, Joni Jones, (also known as Iya Omi Olomo, and Orlando L Taylor (former NCA President); We, (I), cited for outstanding, pioneering research
Recipient of a distinguished teaching award, given by the National Communication Association’s Teachers on Teaching Series, in recognition of “Outstanding Contributions to the Philosophy and Methodology of the Teaching of Speech Communication,” with a convention program given in my honor, 1997 (national)
Recognized as a distinguished teacher, mentor, and intercultural scholar, by the National Communication Association’s Feminist and Women’s Studies Division, with a convention program given in my honor, 1995 (national)
Recipient of a teaching excellence award, given by the University of Kansas Center for Teaching Excellence, 2002
Recipient of a Steeples Service to Kansans Award, given by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 1999
Given a brick in my honor on the Plaza of Heroines at Wichita State University, by the National Communication Association’s Feminist and Women’s Studies Division, given as a follow up to the 1995 distinguished-scholarship and pedagogy recognition that I received from that same Division (national)
Recipient of a City Enhancement and Cultural Exchange Award, given by the City of Lawrence, 1994 Recipient of the highest service award given by the Consortium of Women Doctors, 2001
Recipient of a divisional “Top Paper” award, NCA, 2008
Invited appointee to the Editorial Board for the Forum on Public Policy, the academic journal of the Oxford University Scholars’ Round Table, appointed, 2009
Chosen for induction into the Central States Communication Association Hall of Fame, April, 2015
Current Research Statement - ( 2015)
While my research on the discourse of terror and trauma continues, I also maintain my line of research on African American discourse strategies and personae. My most recent journal article is on Barack Obama, constructing a comprehensive persona for him in spiritualist/theological terms. This article shows that Obama’s ontological development follows a Christian-theology timeline from “disciple” to “apostle,” and argues that Obama’s presidential victory (ies) were based, in part, on his Biblical references, employing Pauline theology that had a broad resonance at a time when the country needed to derive a sense of hope.
Currently, I am writing an essay on call-response for an African American Encyclopedia. Call- response is a dominant feature of African American communication in both sacred and secular contexts. In music terminology, call-response is referred to as antiphony. The cultural significance is that call-response creates a strong communal bond and unity between sender and receiver, begging the argument that in African American communication, the unit of textual analysis must be broad and all-encompassing, which calls to question one-way, linear models ofdiscourse analysis.
Also, currently, I am working to complete my book manuscript on interracial communication.
Areas of emphasis:
Interracial/intercultural communication Cultural rhetorics
The discourse of trauma and terror
African American regional church history and cultural roles
An ancillary research area that I recently developed pertains to ‘etic’ and ‘emic’ in the pedagogy and andragogy of teaching cultural studies. I published a 2012 journal article on this topic.