New Faculty

Susan Morgan, associate professor, came to Purdue from Rutgers University in New Jersey to join the department's Health Communication unit.

"Purdue is one of the best universities in the U.S., if not the world, and having the opportunity to work with one of the Top 10 Communication programs in the country is very exciting," Morgan said.

"Excellence seems to lead to more excellence ... the stature of the program and the resources of the university attract great faculty, and the excellence of the faculty draw outstanding graduate students. Coming here became an opportunity I simply couldn't pass up."

Morgan is currently working on several studies related to organ donation. She said she and fellow new faculty member Tyler Harrison are currently conducting the largest worksite health campaign ever done in the U.S. "Because we're doing detailed organizational assessments, we'll be able to determine how structural features of organizations affect the success or failure of each type of campaign."

She is also working on a large study of how the media frame organ donation. "Entertainment media seem to be especially problematic when it comes to promoting myths about organ donation," she said.

Karen Myers, assistant professor, earned a doctorate in communication in May 2005 at Arizona State University. Myers said she chose Purdue because of the department's long tradition of outstanding research.

"I am impressed by the faculty's productivity and dedication to advancing the field of communication. Also, I believed the university is providing outstanding opportunities to support faculty in their research," she said.

Her line of research focuses on organizational assimilation and socialization, but she also is interested in the acquisition of organizational knowledge, role identity, and leadership.

"In particular, my research has involved municipal firefighting crews, exploring communication that enables them to establish trust, become a cohesive unit, and to develop performance proficiency," she said. In the future, she plans to continue to examine team communication and coordination in other types of high reliability workgroups in other industries.

Tyler Harrison, assistant professor, joined the Organizational and Health Communication units from Kean University in New Jersey. He said being at Purdue has provided more opportunities to focus on his research.

He is currently working on two conflict related projects, including finishing a project on student/faculty conflicts and is currently in the middle stages of a project focusing on business/consumer arbitrations, and the strategies involved in pursuing grievances. He is also working on two projects on organ donation. The first project involves tracking and analyzing media coverage of organ donation, including news and fictionalized accounts, to understand how myths about organ donation have become so prevalent. The second focuses on worksite campaigns.

"On a personal note, while I was a little sad to be leaving New Jersey, I have found Purdue and Indiana to be very welcoming, and have not missed New Jersey very much," Harrison said.

Pam Whitten, professor, previously served on the faculty at Michigan State University. Whitten, who joined the department's Health Communication and Media, Technology and Society units, specializes in researching the use of technology to deliver health care and education. She is specifically interested in telemedicine, or the delivery of health care via communication devices.

As part of her appointment, Whitten is also a faculty fellow at Purdue's Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering.

Stacey Connaughton, assistant professor, came to Purdue from Rutgers University.

"The department's excellence in research, commitment to graduate and undergraduate teaching, and its dedication to developing future scholars and good citizens are what attracted me to Purdue. I am proud to be here," she said.

Connaughton said she is looking forward to continuing her research program on identification and leadership in geographically distributed contexts, particularly as these issues relate to virtual organizations and political parties.

"I also look forward to continuing to engage in collaborative projects with individuals in our department, scholars from other disciplines, and individuals from industry, government, and the military," she said.