Academic Information

Degrees

MA: Speech Communication, Colorado State
JD: University of Denver College of Law

Research Interests

My main area of interest is the study of rhetoric in appellate opinions.

Advisor/Committee

Classes Taught

1. COMM 4032, "Mass Media Law"

2. COMM 4042, "First Amendment Law"

3. Comm 4905, "Media Ethics

4. COMM 2420, "Business and Professional Communication"

5. COMM 1001, "Introduction to Communication"

Conference Presentations & Publications

1. "Until the People Spoke: The California Supreme Court's Response to Same-Sex 'Marriage' in In re Marriages," Communication Law Review, Vol. 9, Issue 1 (2009).

2. "Rally 'Round the Burning Cross, Boys: A Legal and Rhetorical Analysis of Virginia v. Black," Communication Law Review, Vol. 5, Issue 2 (2005).

3. "Low-Income Grandparents as the Newest Draftees in the Government's War on Drugs: A Legal and Rhetorical Analysis of Department of Housing and Urban Development v. Rucker," Georgetown Journal of Poverty Law & Policy, Vol. X, No. 2 (Summer 2003)(with co-author, M. Jason Williams).

4. "The Reconstruction of Legal Reality: Choice of Language, Definition, and Analogy as Methods for Limiting the Fora Available for Public Expression," Free Speech Yearbook, Vol. 34 (1996)

5. Panel Member, "Bridging the Divide: Overcoming Communication Barriers Classroom," Carolinas Communication Association conference, Columbia, South Carolina, October 4, 2008.

6. Panel Member, "Effective Pedagogical Practices for Students in Custody of the Department of Corrections," National Communication Association conference, Chicago, Illinois, November 11, 2005.

7. Invited Panel Member, "Freedom of Speech and Press: Trials and Tribulations," Oxford Round Table, St. Anthony's College, the University of Oxford, Oxford, England, August 1, 2004 though August 6, 2004.

8. Conference Paper, "[Written] Rules, We Don't Need no Stinkin' [Written] Rules: A Legal Analysis of Virginia v. Hicks," Western States Communication Association convention, Albuquerque, New Mexico, February 15, 2004.

9. Conference Presentation, "Censorship from a Classical Perspective," presented at the Central States Speech Association Convention's "Great Ideas for Teaching Speech" ("G.I.F.T.S.") program, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, April 6, 2002. 

10. Conference Paper, "Narrative Coherence and Fidelity in Criminal Legal Story-telling" Seech Association convention, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 20, 1994.

Career Goal Statement 

Personal Information

Personal Hobbies/Interests

1. Tennis

2. Platform Tennis

Reasons Why I Chose PhD Program at ECU