Hometown: Reidsville, North Carolina
Degrees earned: B.A. in English and Communication from Johnson C. Smith University; M.A. in journalism and M.A. in education from Ohio State University; Ph.D. in communication from Ohio State University
Arrived at NIU: 2000
Classes taught: Introduction to Communication Studies, Criticism of Public Discourse, Rhetoric and Public Issues, Intercultural Communication
What’s your mission in academia?
My mission in academia as a communication professor is threefold: to help students understand communication practices, concepts and theories and their appropriate applications; to prepare students to enter the multicultural workforce by understanding how culture and cultural context plays a significant role in the communication process; and to help students become better critical thinkers and consumers of public discourse and to understand the necessity and responsibility of being good citizens.
What do you like most about teaching?
I try to create a climate of community among my students and myself by encouraging open communication, helping them to make connections between theoretical concepts and real-life experiences. Drawing students out, helping them to make sense out of what they already know, what they’ve learned and what they have experienced empowers them. It is exhilarating when they “get it!”
What’s your current research?
I do research on womanist theology, the rhetoric of African American female preachers and workplace spirituality. I’m in the midst of writing a book on the sermons of African American women preachers.
What’s a good book you recently read?
“ The Audacity of Hope” by U.S. Sen. Barack Obama.
What’s your best advice to students who want to succeed?
Success in college (and life) depends on students’ ability to identify clear and realistic goals and stay focused and engaged in achieving them. I encourage students to identify a goal and work to achieve it by being a responsible and dedicated student. Go to class every day. Be on time for class. Understand course expectations. Take notes. Ask questions. Start early on assignments. Visit the professor during office hours to make sure you are on the right track. If some subjects are proving to be difficult, seek help early. Also, seek out a faculty and staff member to mentor you, providing you with guidance and support. Align yourself with people who are about something and who will be supportive of your goals. Separate yourself from those who seek to destroy your dreams and crush your spirit. If you fail, simply get up and try again. Visualize what you want to become and then take advantage of all of the resources, programs and opportunities that exist here to help you achieve it.
What do you do when you’re not teaching or doing research?
I conduct workshops on the multicultural classroom and other diversity issues in academia. I also have a couple hobbies, collecting black angels and scrapbooking. And I have a pet dog, a Shih Tzu named Sasha.
Why should students come to NIU?
This university offers excellent programs, resources and opportunities to help students fulfill their dreams or realize the possibilities of what they can become.
What inspires you?
I have a daily affirmation: “If I am comfortable inside my skin, I have the ability to make other people comfortable in theirs.” (Maya Angelou)
Photos by Don Butler, NIU Media Services