The faculty and staff of the School of Communication were recruited to Queens University of Charlotte for their teaching excellence as well as their relevant professional experiences. Our faculty is a talented and diverse group of scholars, professionals, and educators who are committed to providing quality classroom experiences and contributing to the development of their respective areas in the communication field.
School of Communication Faculty
School of Communication Dean's Office
Van King, Dean, School of Communication
Barbara Higgins, Administrative Assistant, School of Communication
Stephanie Jennings, Student Media Advisor
School of Communication in the News
Click here to see more about our faculty and staff in the News
Van King
Dean, School of Communication
M.S., Northwestern University
B.A., University of South Carolina
Dean King began his career as an award-winning reporter and editor, retiring in 2004 after 11 years as the president and publisher of the News & Record in Greensboro. The paper has a daily circulation of 100,000 and also operates two online businesses: News-Record.com and GoTriad.com. He was an innovator on the Internet long before most other news organizations, helping lead the News & Record into the online world in 1993. Dean King brings front-line experience with the convergence of traditional and new media, experience that will be critical as he and the faculty of the School of Communication work to define and build a 21st century program at Queens.
Dean King earned his B.A. in journalism from the University of South Carolina and his master’s in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He’s received a number of accolades from his alma maters, as well as several journalism prizes at both state and national levels.
Office: Dana 105A
Telephone: 704 337-2384
Email: kingv@queens.edu
Ruth Wickersham Baldrige
Adjunct Instructor of Communication
M.A., Queens University of Charlotte
B.A., Northern Illinois University
Ruth Baldrige has an extensive background in organizational communication and development; human resource operations and management; corporate communication; technical writing and editing; instructional design, development and delivery; project management; systems; and finance. She has worked in the Office of Human Resources at Queens University of Charlotte for the past five years.
Ms. Baldrige completed her Master of Arts in Organizational Communication at Queens University of Charlotte, where her thesis was on the role of communication theory in coaching.
Office: Jernigan 101D
Telephone: 704 337-2385
Email: baldrigr@queens.edu
Karen Shearer Dunn
Assistant Professor of Communication
M.A., The Ohio State University
B.S., Georgetown College
Professor Dunn's experience includes advertising for Leo Burnett, instructional design and training for Arthur Anderson, and training for clients such as IBM, Wachovia, Motorola, the U.S. Postal Service, the State of North Carolina and Philip Morris.
Her research interests include interpersonal communication, nonverbal communication and gender studies. She is a contributing author of Sex, Gender and Jobs.
Professor Dunn is a two-time recipient of the Fuqua Distinguished Educator Award. At Queens, she currently teaches interpersonal, nonverbal, small group, and gender communication.
Office: Dana 103
Telephone: 704 337-2370
Email: dunnk@queens.edu
Dr. Mohammed el-Nawawy
Knight-Crane Assistant Professor of Communication
Ph.D., Southern Illinois University
M.A., American University of Cairo, Journalism
B.A., American University of Cairo, Journalism
Recently appointed as an ex-officio member of the Board of the Arab-U.S. Association for Communication Educators, Dr. el-Nawawy's book on the Al-Jazeera satellite channel was the first volume published in any language about the network and was selected as the 2003 Choice Outstanding Academic Title in the Humanities. He is the senior editor for the Journal of Middle East Media, and a member of the editorial board for the journal Media, War and Conflict.
Publications with co-author Adel Iskandar include Al-Jazeera: The Story of the Network that is Rattling Governments and Redefining Modern Journalism (2003), and Al-Jazeera: How the Free Arab News Network Scooped the World and Changed the Middle East (2002). His expert opinion has been in demand as Al-Jazeera begins its English-language operations. In addition to writing The Israeli-Egyptian Peace Process in the Reporting of Western Journalists, He has also published in several national and foreign journals in the international communication field. His work on Arab media in general, and Al-Jazeera in particular, has attracted the attention of the popular press inside and outside the United States. He is currently studying the impact of Islamic websites on the Muslims’ public sphere.
Dr. el-Nawawy teaches international communication, media globalization and journalism courses. His research interests focus on new media in the Middle East, particularly satellite channels and the Internet, and their impact on the Arab public sphere. He is also interested in issues of public diplomacy and ways of initiating effective dialogue between the Middle East and the West.
He is a member of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and the International Communication Association.
Office: Dana 109
Telephone: 704 688-2744
Email: nawawym@queens.edu
Ken Gepfert
Adjunct Instructor of Communication
M.A., University of Texas
B.Journalism, University of Missouri
With over three decades of experience as a journalist, Ken Gepfert has served as a business reporter and editor in the newsrooms of some of America's largest papers, including the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times. Gepfert worked with the Charlotte Observer for seven years, as business editor and assitant managing editor. Most recently, Gepfert served the Wall Street Journal as a columnist, editor, and senior editor of the Journal’s European edition, taking him to Atlanta, Brussels, and New York.
In 2007, Gepfert returned to Charlotte to join Luquire George Andrews, a integrated marketing communication firm, where he serves as Senior Vice President for Public Relations.
Email: gepfertk@queens.edu
Lawrence Grayson
Adjunct Instructor of Communication
J.D., Northwestern University School of Law
M.S., Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism
B.A., University of Maryland
Lawrence Grayson is a writer. He currently serves as a senior vice president of corporate communications at Bank of America, where he has been a strategic partner to executives including the chief financial officer, the general counsel and the heads of global risk and corporate workplace.
Mr. Grayson previously was a reporter and editor at The Washington Post; managing editor of The International Economy magazine; and an attorney whose practice included securities and commercial litigation. He delivered his law school class’s graduation commencement address and is a member of both the Golden Key and Kappa Tau Alpha honor societies.
Email: graysonl@queens.edu
Dr. Kim Weller Gregory
Assistant Professor of Communication
Director, School of Communication Graduate Programs
Ph.D., University of South Florida
M.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
B.A., Vanderbilt University
Dr. Gregory has served on the Queens faculty in various capacities since 2001 and joined the School of Communication as Director of Graduate Programs in 2009. Her professional experience includes serving as an organizational communication and relationship consultant. Her research interests include organizational communication, small groups and teams, and research methodologies.
She primarily teaches in the Masters Program in Organizational and Strategic Communication including courses such as Research Pro Seminar, Group Dynamics, Theories of Organizational Communication, Organization and Employee Identity, Corporate Social Resopnsibility, and the Capstone course.
Office: Dana 102C
Telephone: 704 688-2747
Email: gregoryk@queens.edu
Barbara Higgins
Administrative Assistant, School of Communication
Barbara Higgins has a background in non-profit grantmaking and evaluation. Her background also includes experience as a Human Resource representative and as an executive assistant and she has worked with Wachovia and Foundation for the Carolinas.
In 2009, Barbara completed her coursework toward a bachelor's degree in Organizational Communication as a Hayworth student in the School of Communication here at Queens. She has decided to continue her education as a student in the Master of Arts in Organizational & Strategic Communication program.
Office: Dana 105
Telephone: 704 337-2397
Email: higginsb@queens.edu
Stephanie Jennings
Student Media Advisor
M.Ed. University of South Carolina
B.S. University of Central Florida
Stephanie Jennings is a student development professional having recently graduated from the University of South Carolina master's program in Higher Education and Student Affairs. At South Carolina, Stephanie served as a graduate assistant in the office of sexual health and violence prevention research and worked in the Academic Enrichment Center for Student Athletes.
Her experience includes providing national leadership support in educational development for Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity, developing student services at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, and authoring publications in The Mentor: An Academic Advising Journal.
Stephanie is a member of both the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics (N4A) and the National Association of Academic Advisors (NACADA).
Email: jenningss@queens.edu
Dr. Kristen Linnea Johnson
Adjunct Instructor of Communication
Ph.D., Northwestern University
M.A., Northwestern University
B.A., Miami University of Ohio
Dr. Kristen Johnson is a relative newcomer to Charlotte (July 2008) and is currently a Senior Vice President with Wells Fargo, leading strategic initiatives for Business Banking. Prior to joining Wachovia/Wells Fargo, she was with Fannie Mae in Washington, DC, where she developed proposals worth $200M in annual savings and built an internal innovation capability. Before Fannie Mae, Dr. Johnson had a 13-year career with Accenture Strategy, leading engagements in multiple industries including gaming; manufacturing; financial services; energy; and telecommunications.
Dr. Johnson received her master's and Ph.D. in Communication from Northwestern University (Evanston, IL), with a focus on quantitative statistics, premarital romantic communication, and organizational communication.
While she has focused on the corporate world, Dr. Johnson has maintained a foothold in academia, continuing to teach at universities and community colleges in an adjunct capacity. Outside of her 'day job' and teaching, she is on the Board of Directors for the Animal Adoption League; loves (and can obsessively quote) 'stupid humor' movies like Tommy Boy; indulges in good red wines; and secretly observes others' conflict as a means to create new study hypotheses.
Email: johnsonk@queens.edu
Dr. Bruce Marcey
Adjunct Instructor of Communication
Ph.D., Regent University
M.Div., Covenant Theological Seminary
B.A., Bucknell University
Dr. Marcey has been teaching in the School of Communication at Queens since 2007. His academic interests include visual rhetoric, rhetoric of the built environment and postmodern philosophy and communication.
He is a currently lead Pastor at an urban arts driven church in Charlotte called Warehouse 242. A popular conference speaker and trainer, his experience also includes leading 3 non-profit corporations, two of which he founded.
Dr. Marcey has taught Public Speaking and Introduction to Communication at Queens.
Email: marceyb@queens.edu
Dr. John A. McArthur
Assistant Professor of Communication
Director, School of Communication Undergraduate Programs
Ph.D., Clemson University
M.Ed., University of South Carolina
B.S., Furman University
Dr. McArthur is a teacher, student, and researcher of user-experience design, proxemics (the communicativity of space), and the role of technology and media design in society. He focuses much of his study on using these interests for successful instructional practice. Dr. McArthur's current research includes studies of the ways that we produce and distribute information using the various platforms of medium and modality, including digital environments, speeches, print documents, physical space, and social media.
His recent publications include: "Podcasting: Engaging 'digital natives' in the communication classroom" (in Communication Teacher, Jan. 2009) and "Digital subculture: A 'geek' meaning of style" (in Journal of Communication Inquiry, Jan. 2009). His professional experience includes event production and marketing, corporate communication consulting through outdoor experience training, and student activities advising.
Dr. McArthur teaches a variety of courses at Queens including the introductory course, Public Relations, Layout & Design, Media Aesthetics, Social Media, and courses in media & society. He is a member of and active presenter in the National Communication Association (NCA), the Southern States Communication Association (SSCA), and the SC College Personnel Association (SCCPA).
Office: Dana 102A
Telephone: 704 688-2745
Email: mcarthurj@queens.edu
@JAMcArthur on Twitter
Nancy Clare Morgan
Adjunct Instructor of Communication
J.D., Columbia University School of Law
B.A., Princeton University
Nancy Clare Morgan is an independent writer and editor. She recently served as Senior Vice President, Executive Communications Manager at Bank of America, writing speeches, scripts and other communications for the president of the Consumer Bank.
Ms. Morgan began her career in book publishing and was Publicity Manager for Random House, Inc. While there, she became fascinated by the interaction of law, media and the arts. Following that interest to Columbia University’s Schools of Law and Journalism, she earned a law degree with a concentration in First Amendment and media issues and worked for the Media Law Resource Center, a non-profit that supports media defendants facing defamation or privacy suits.
After moving to Charlotte, Ms. Morgan began her relationship with Queens in 2003 as a member of the University’s Law School Advisory Committee. She has taught Media Law & Ethics since 2009.
Email: morgann@queens.edu
Dr. Daina Nathaniel
Assistant Professor of Communication
Coordinator of the Capstone Experience
Ph.D., Florida State University
M.A., Wake Forest University
B.A., Queens University of Charlotte
A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Nathaniel’s research interests center around Caribbean issues, particularly with respect to culture and identity. Originally trained as a journalist, she has worked at the Fox News affiliate in Charlotte, the NPR affiliate WFAE in Charlotte with Mike Collins, as well as the NBC News channel as a foreign news producer and writer.
Her primary research area is cultural studies which examines the relationships between cultures within societies, issues of power and domination, issues of race and ethnicity between disparate groups, and all the attendant challenges that arise as all people try to find a sense of place within their various environments: home, school, work, church, community and nation.
Dr. Nathaniel has taught undergraduate and graduate level courses including intercultural communication, public speaking, interpersonal communication, political rhetoric and various courses related to writing for the media. She is an active presenter at various academic conferences including AEJMC (Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication), ACS (Association for Cultural Studies), and ICA (International Communication Association). She has also been asked to guest speak at Toastmasters International on various aspects of public speaking.
Office: Dana 107
Telephone: 704 688-2743
Email: nathanid@queens.edu
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Dr. James Neale
Director of Media and Learning Technology
Associate Professor of Communication
Ph.D., University of Tennessee
M.Ed., University of Florida
B.A., University of Florida
Dr. Neale’s interests include alternative delivery methods of instruction, media’s role in computer based instruction, and media literacy. With over 20 years experience in media production, his clients have included the U.S. Department of Interior; the Department of Agriculture; the Tennessee Valley Authority; Apple Corporation; the University System of Georgia; the States of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Louisiana; and the Rylander Theatre. In addition, Dr. Neale has been involved with projects including video production, still photography, CD-Rom authoring, distance learning, and web-course production. His credits include the CBS television show Christy, America’s Most Wanted, Shop at Home Network, Andersonville Smithy, Volunteer Realty’s Home Showcase, Lake Living, and VideMart. He produced and directed former President Jimmy Carter in a regional television ad campaign and was the facilities still photographer for the Rylander Theatre’s tribute to Jimmy Carter on his 75th birthday.
In 1998, Dr. Neale produced the first video-streamed online course in the University System of Georgia’s history. As a professor at Georgia Southwestern State University, Dr. Neale directed three federal grants; was the director of the School of Education's Technology Center; published articles; made over 20 regional, state and national presentations; was a GSW Research Fellow; was a member of the Faculty Senate, was a member of the graduate faculty, chaired the Graduate Affairs Committee and served as interim director of the University’s Instructional Technology Center. During the 1998-1999 school year, Dr. Neale was named a Board of Regents Distinguished Professor of Teaching and Learning.
At Queens University of Charlotte, Dr. Neale serves as the Director of Media and Learning Technology for the university. He is responsible for instructional technology support for the entire campus and he lead the construction of the Knight-Crane Convergence Laboratory in the summer of 2008. The Knight-Crane Convergence Lab is the most advanced learning space on campus, with 20 dual boot IMacs, a TriCaster Television Studio and PolyCom distance classroom capabilities. The School of Communication uses this classroom for many of its undergraduate media and strategic communication courses. He teaches courses in digital media, digital photography, instructional media, and audio and video production.
Office: Dana 102B
Telephone: 704 688-2895
Email: nealej@queens.edu
Dr. Leanne Stuart Pupchek
Associate Professor of Communication
Ph.D., University of South Florida
M.S., Syracuse University
B. Journalism (Honours), Carleton University, Ottawa
Dr. Pupchek's professional experience includes serving as senior editor of a weekly newspaper, corporate communication writer and editor for a large North American insurance company, secretary for the educational mission of Saudi Arabia and to a Canadian Member of Parliament, and producer/host for student radio. She has traveled widely in North America and Europe, especially Canada, Britain, Switzerland, France and Ukraine. She led the MA program's International Experience trips to Northern Europe and Antigua. Participating students performed ethnographic studies of issues related to organizational and intercultural communication.
Dr. Pupchek's research interests include visual rhetoric, especially with regard to national identity, community identity, authenticity, branding and tourism. Teaching specialties include Advertising, Business Writing, media design and production, and media analysis. Forthcoming and recent publications include:
- Home and Native Brand: Identification, division and indigenous art in Canada, 2009 expected, UBC Press.
- Liturgy as catechesis: A rhetorical perspective on Orthodox education, with Rev. Fr. Dr. William Mills, Logos: A Journal of Eastern Orthodox Religion.
Dr. Pupchek has earned the Fuqua Distinguished Educator Award at Queens, the student-nominated Capstone Award at the University of South Carolina, and, at the University of South Florida, she earned the art history paper prize and the doctoral student research prize in communication awarded by Art Bochner.
Dr. Pupchek is a member of the International Association of Business Communicators; National Communication Association; Southern States Communication Association; Carolinas Communication Association; Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication; Association for Canadian Studies in the United States.
Office: Dana 101
Telephone: 704 337-2240
Email: pupchekl@queens.edu
Sonja Stetzler
Adjunct Instructor of Communication
M.A., Queens University of Charlotte
B.S., Winthrop University
Sonja Stetzler began serving on the Queens faculty as an adjunct professor in the School of Communication in 2007. Her professional experience includes positions in management, sales, training, and quality assurance. She currently teaches public speaking in the undergraduate program.
Her primary interest includes the study of language and communication as a catalyst for change. She is a highly requested speaker for local and state meetings in the hospitality and healthcare industries. She is actively involved in Toastmasters International, and currently serves as an Area Governor for several Charlotte Toastmasters clubs.
Email: stetzlers@queens.edu
Ron Stodghill
Adjunct Instructor of Communication
Nieman Fellow, Harvard University
M.F.A. Queens University of Charlotte
B. Journalism, University of Missouri
"Ron Stodghill is an award-winning journalist and author whose career spans more than two decades and includes roles as a staff writer for the New York Times, Midwest bureau chief for Time magazine, Washington correspondent for Business Week magazine, and editor-in-chief of Savoy magazine. Educated at the University of Missouri, Queens University of Charlotte, and Harvard University, where he studied as a Nieman Fellow, Stodghill is the author of Redbone: Money, Malice and Murder in Atlanta (HarperCollins, 2007), and co-author of No Free Ride: former U.S. Congressman and NAACP president Kweisi Mfume’s best-selling memoir (Ballantine Books, 1996). Stodghill’s writing has also appeared in the anthology, Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America (Ballantine Books, 1995) as well as Readers Digest, Slate, Essence, Black Enterprise, and Emerge. Stodghill resides with his wife and three sons in Charlotte, N.C."
This biography and further information are available at www.ronstodghill.com.
Email: stodghillr@queens.edu
Kilby Watson
Adjunct Instructor of Communication
M.A., Queens University of Charlotte
B.A., St. Ambrose University
Kilby Watson has more than 10 years of project management and communication experience and has skillfully researched trends and implemented procedures and programs to successfully enhance business and communication systems. Having served seven years as a secondary level English, Public Speaking and Theatre teacher, Ms. Watson successfully utilized Baldrige Techniques and Total Quality Management tools at Holloway High School -- one of the few National Model Schools in the nation which serves at-risk students. She has served on a variety of committees including the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills, the Nonsexist-Multicultural Textbook Committee for planning school district textbook standards, and the National Forensic League’s East Iowa District Committee.
In May 2008, Ms. Watson graduated from Queens University of Charlotte with a Master of Arts in Organizational Communication where she served as a member of the university's Diversity Council, Staff Council, and Chair of the Staff Communication's Committee. Her research interests include diversity in higher education and methods for universities to enhance graduate student's learning experiences through online social networking.
Email: watsonk@queens.edu
Michael S. Weinstein
Adjunct Instructor of Communication
B.A. Roosevelt University
Michael Weinstein is a journalist and educator with 30 years of experience in the newspaper industry. In his current role as Features Editor for the Charlotte Observer, Weinstein combines multiple disciplines to promote lively and relevant news reports.
Weinstein believes that an editor is a teacher and, through his teaching, he has developed news writers and journalists as a consultant, trainer, and speaker both in Charlotte and across the nation. At Queens University of Charlotte, Weinstein is sharing his talents through teaching and developing writers and student-journalists.
Email: weinsteinm@queens.edu
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