Former Graduate Students Pursue Doctoral Degrees

Kurt Braddock (M.A., 2006)

Kurt Braddock earned his M.A. from the University of Delaware in 2006 and is now a first year Ph.D. student at Penn State University. Kurt is studying small group interpersonal communication processes under James Dillard, Dennis Gouran, and Denise Solomon. While at Delaware, Kurt conducted a study examining the impact of biological sex and psychological gender on leadership emergence in small groups, which was presented at the 2006 Eastern Communication Association conference in Philadelphia. Kurt also presented his research on cross-sex relationship definition at the 2005 National Communication Association conference in Boston. Additionally, Kurt has worked on a project examining small group communication in resource dilemmas with his M.A. advisor, Charlie Pavitt. In the fall of 2006, Kurt will be teaching Public Speaking at Penn State while studying small group interpersonal communication during political crisis, international conflict, and war.

David DeAndrea (M.A., 2007)

David DeAndrea earned his M.A. from the University of Delaware in 2007 and is currently a first year doctoral student at Michigan State University. Dave is involved in several research projects led by Dr. Joe Walther at MSU that examine new media, social influence, and public health campaigns. His interest in interpersonal communication and computer mediated communication research was developed while at the University of Delaware. Under the tutelage of his M.A advisor Dr. Pavitt, Dave conducted a master’s thesis entitled “Expanding the Sociometric Process” that examined how state self-esteem is impacted. Dave also studied interpersonal attraction with Dr. Mortenson while at Delaware.

Anthony Dudo (M.A., 2005)

Since graduating from the M.A. program in 2005, Anthony Dudo has been pursing his Ph.D. in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Anthony’s studies focus on science and environmental communication, public opinion and political communication. In addition to fulfilling his coursework, Anthony has been working on a number of research projects. For the last year he has been working with Professors Sharon Dunwoody and Dominique Brossard to expedite a multi-national survey of stem cell researchers and epidemiologists regarding their perceptions of mass media. Additionally, Anthony recently was awarded the Top Paper and Eason Prize from the Science Communication Interest Group of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication for a study he conducted with a fellow student assessing the risk-related quality of newspaper coverage of avian influenza. He also recently presented his M.A. thesis about newspaper framing of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the World Association for Public Opinion Research. Anthony will be a teaching assistant for Introduction to Mass Communication in the upcoming academic year.

Melissa Dobosh (M.A., 2005)

After completing her master’s degree in the summer of 2005, Melissa began working on her Ph.D. and teaching small group communication at Texas A&M University. However, after her first year, she followed her adviser, Marshall Scott Poole, to the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Currently, she is working with Dr. Poole on various research projects, focusing on technology and group communication, as well as group leadership. Melissa’s paper, Top Management Team Conflict: Understanding the Complexities and Adopting a New Approach, was recently presented at the International Association of Conflict Management conference.

Andrew High (M.A., 2006)

Andy High earned his M.A. from the University of Delaware in 2006 and is now getting ready to begin as a first year Ph.D. student at the Pennsylvania State University. Andy will study interpersonal communication under Denise Solomon and is particularly interested in computer-mediated communication. Other recent projects include his thesis entitled "Does Communicating via a Mediated Environment Reduce the Debilitating Effects of Social Anxiety on Interpersonal Impression Management?" as well as a paper co-authored with his M.A. advisor, Scott Caplan, titled "The Moderating Influence of Social Anxiety on Hyperpersonal Effects in Computer Mediated Communication." While at the University of Delaware, Andy received a Top 3 Paper Award from the Eastern Communication Association for a paper he co-authored, "Beyond Excessive Use: The Interaction between Cognitive and Behavioral Symptoms of Problematic Internet Use." Andy taught a public speaking course and a fundamentals of communication course as a graduate student at the University of Delaware. During his first semester at Penn State, Andy will teach an effective speaking class.

Keli Steuber (M.A., 2005)

Keli Steuber earned her M.A. from University of Delaware in 2005 and is now a third year Ph.D. student at Pennsylvania State University. Keli is studying interpersonal communication under Denise Solomon and is currently conducting a theme analysis assessing how infertility influences marriage. Other recent projects include an interaction study exploring conflict avoidance in dating couples as well as continuing a project with her M.A. advisor, Scott Caplan, developing a relational styles scale based on John Gottman's marital typology. While at University of Delaware, Keli was recognized by the Instructional and Developmental Division of the International Communication Association for “excellent teaching by a graduate student.” She taught two versions of an effective speech class during her first year at Penn State and will teach Interpersonal Communication this upcoming fall.

Jacob Turner (M.A., 2005)

Jacob Turner graduated from the University of Delaware’s Department of Communication in 2005 with a Master of Arts. He is currently pursuing a PhD in the School of Communication Studies at Bowling Green State University, in northwest Ohio. In April of this year, Jacob presented a paper that examined the representation of women in music videos (via a content analysis) at the Central States Communication Association Annual Conference in Indianapolis, IN. Jacob will be presenting a paper, which he wrote with Dr. Srinivas Melkote and another BGSU PhD student in August at the 2006 AEJMC Conference in San Francisco. This paper investigated the nature of the New York Times’ coverage of the events, issues, and actors during the month prior to the start of the 2003 war with Iraq. Jacob also recently had a book review of Ken S. McAllister’s, Game Work: Language, Power and Computer Game Culture accepted for publication in the Quarterly Journal of Speech. Jacob will start work with Dr. Melissa Spirek on a number of survey-based research projects in Fall 2006 and is also currently working on generating publications from his Master’s thesis. Other projects Jacob is involved in include: a longitudinal content analysis of ESPN’s SportsCenter and an investigation of the sports media coverage of Floyd Landis, the Mennonite American who won the Tour de France in 2006. In the fall of 2006, Jacob will be teaching two courses: JOUR 201, Journalism Techniques for Non-Majors and UNIV 111, Springboard, which is a course that focuses on growth in the core skills that facilitate academic success in first year students, especially public speaking and interpersonal communication. .

Davita Veselenak (M.A., 2006)

Davita Veselenak earned her M.A. in 2006. She is now working toward her doctoral degree in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she has an Advanced Opportunity Fellowship for the academic year 2006-2007 and will serve as a graduate teaching assistant in subsequent years. Davita plans to use her doctoral study to examine the issues of media literacy and media effects, particularly with respect to children. She also hopes to continue in a similar line of research as that of her Master's thesis, "Conceptualizing and Testing the Multidimensionality of the Materialism Construct: Concept Explication and Scale Development," by studying the media and its relationships with consumer and popular culture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.