Faculty Profiles

Cynthia-Lou Coleman, Associate Professor and Department Chair. Prof. Coleman earned a PhD in journalism and mass communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and holds a master's from Cornell and bachelor's from California State University-Sonoma. She teaches theory and research methods to undergraduate and graduate students. Her specialty is mass media framing and persuasion, and she contributes editorials on media to The Oregonian newspaper. Her recent articles include features on mass media and Native Americans for the Encyclopedia of United States-American Indian Policy, Relations, and Law (forthcoming), and studies on framing of health and science information in Health; Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly; and American Studies. Coleman is editor of the Northwest Communication Association Journal and serves on the editorial board of Science Communication. Her website is http://www.comm.pdx.edu/faculty/coleman/coleman.php Contact information: Neuberger Hall 23; ccoleman@pdx.edu; 503.725.5368.


Priya Kapoor, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies. Prof. Kapoor earned a PhD from Ohio University, and holds a master's from Cornell and bachelor's from Delhi University, New Delhi, India. She teaches introduction to intercultural communication, problems of intercultural communication, interpersonal communication, and gender, race and class in media. Her areas of expertise include intercultural communication, social cultural impacts of mass media, globalization of culture, and international development theory. Contact information: Neuberger Hall room 31; kapoorp@pdx.edu; 503.725.3543.


Susan B. Poulsen, Associate Professor. Prof. Poulsen earned a PhD from the University of Washington, and holds a master's from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and bachelor's from the University of Washington. She teaches urban communication, intercultural communication, interpersonal communication, communication consultation, qualitative methods and data analysis, and metaphor and narrative analysis. Her areas of expertise include speech cognate area configurations such as culture/communication/cognition, time/space and place and metaphor analysis. Contact information: Neuberger Hall room 39; poulsens@pdx.edu; 503.725.3544.


L. David Ritchie, Professor. Prof. Ritchie earned a PhD from Stanford University, and holds a master's from the University of Oregon and Bachelor's from Reed College. He teaches communication inquiry, introduction to graduate studies, metaphor in everyday talk, conversation structure and process, humor and playful communication, communication and cognition, and language meaning and interpretation. His recent publications have focused primarily on metaphor analysis, metaphor theory, and playful language. He is also actively involved with an interdisciplinary group studying issues of police-community relations. Contact information: Neuberger Hall room 41; cgrd@pdx.edu; 503.725.3550. Webpage: http://web.pdx.edu/~cgrd/


Gerald Sussman, Professor. Prof. Sussman teaches jointly in the Department of Communication and the School of Urban Studies and Planning. His research focus is on the political, economic, institutional, international, political culture, propaganda, and development aspects of media and communications. Prof. Sussman's courses include Critical Theories in Mass Communications, Communication, Information Cities, and critical methods in media research. He coordinates the Media Studies cluster for the University Studies program. Contact information: Urban Center room 370K; sussmang@pdx.edu; 503.725.5176.


Charlotte Word, Assistant Professor. Prof. Schell earned a PhD from the University of Denver, and bachelor's from the University of Nevada. She teaches communication in groups. Contact information: Neuberger Hall room 73; cword@pdx.edu; 503.725.8378.