Betty H. La France
Professor
Specialties
- Quantitative research methods
- Interpersonal communication in close relationships, including sexual relationships
Recent Activities
- Hall, J. A., & La France, B. H. (2024). Chapter 21: The role of humor in initiating romantic relationships. In T. E. Ford, W. Chłopicki, and G. Kuipers’s (Eds.), De Gruyter Handbook of Humor Studies. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter.
- La France, B. H. (2022). “Don’t get your meat where you get your bread”: Beliefs and advice about workplace romance. Behavioral Sciences[Special issue], 12(8), 278.
- La France, B. H., & Hall, J. A. (2021). Communication, courtship, and the emerging adult. In T. Coffelt’s (Ed.), Interpersonal sexual communication across the Lifespan. New York, NY: Peter Lang.
- La France, B. H. (2020). Sexual interactions (un)scripted: An exploration of consequential unscripted sexual interactions. Communication Quarterly, 68(4), 355-374.
- La France, B. H. (2019). The impact of sexual self-disclosure, sexual compatibility, and sexual conflict on predicted outcome values in sexual relationships. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 28, 57-67.
- Department of Communication Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award (2024)
- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni-in-Residence, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI (2023)
- Northern Illinois University’s Exemplary Faculty Mentoring Award (2022)
Contact

Organizational/Corporate Communication
Reavis Hall 111
blafrance@niu.edu
Education
Ph.D., Michigan State University
Contact Us
Department of Communication
Watson Hall 210
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-1563
815-753-7109 (Fax)
David Gunkel, Ph.D.
Department Chair
dgunkel@niu.edu
Ferald Bryan, Ph.D.
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Watson Hall 216
fbryan@niu.edu