Each semester, the UConn Department of Communication welcomes expert guest lecturers to share insights and research from across the field of communication.
Dr. Rebecca Townsend – Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Dr. Rebecca Townsend will be presenting on Tuesday, October 20.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccatownsend
Title:
Agency and Amplified Voice.
Abstract:
Starting from a humanistic and qualitative orientation, my research is situated in rhetoric and cultural communication studies. I have sought to understand how people attain or assume agency and voice. This has included studies in ethnography of deliberation in local governments, participatory action research in transportation-planning public engagement, and political rhetoric and public memory in the US and in Central and Eastern Europe. My current work is an autoethnography of being Aromanian in the US, for a book on Communicating Balkan Liminalities: Theorizing Communication, Meanings, and Relations.
Bio:
Rebecca M. Townsend, Ph.D. is the new Director of Academic Affairs at UConn Hartford. The White House honored her with a “Champion of Change” award for her work on public engagement, which also received recognition by the International Association of Public Participation Core Values Award program. She has received numerous fellowships and awards for her scholarship and teaching. Her recent book Beyond the Cold War: Presidential Rhetoric in Central and Eastern Europe was shortlisted for the International Journal of Press/Politics Hazel Gaudet-Erskine Best Book Award. She has been a twice-tenured professor of communication at both the University of Hartford and Manchester Community College. At UConn, she was Professor-In-Residence in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. She taught graduate courses at Społeczna Akademia Nauk and Kraków University of Economics in Poland and was an invited guest speaker at the University of Warsaw’s Centre for Deliberation. She is also the first woman elected town Moderator in Longmeadow, Massachusetts.
Dr. Charles Ray Taylor – Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Dr. Taylor, will visit the UConn Department of Communication on Tuesday, October 27 and present his talk: “Research Needs Created by the Artificial Intelligence Revolution in Advertising” at 12:30pm, ARJ 225.
Title:
Research Needs Created by the Artificial Intelligence Revolution in Advertising
Abstract:
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming advertising and marketing, creating new opportunities for efficiency, creativity, personalization, and consumer engagement while raising important questions about effectiveness and ethics. This presentation reviews recent developments in AI and identifies promising research directions that can help marketing managers make more informed decisions. Key topics include AI-assisted advertising creativity, consumer responses to AI-generated versus human-created advertising, AI disclosure, advertising personalization and targeting, and AI-powered recommendation systems. The presentation also considers ethical challenges involving consumer privacy, algorithmic bias, deepfakes, and the potential exploitation of vulnerable consumers. Drawing on recent academic research and contemporary advertising examples, the presentation highlights what is currently known and identifies important gaps in our understanding. Particular emphasis is placed on research questions that can provide actionable insights for advertising and marketing managers.
Bio:
Charles R. “Ray” Taylor is John A. Murphy Professor of Marketing at Villanova University. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Advertising. Professor Taylor is a Past-President of the President of the American Academy of Advertising. He is the recipient of the Ivan L. Preston Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Advertising Research from the American Academy of Advertising and the Flemming Hansen Award for Outstanding Contribution to Advertising from the European Advertising Academy. Professor Taylor is a Senior Contributor to Forbes.com, has provided consulting services to many companies, and is frequently quoted in national and global media.
Dr. John Murphy – Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Dr. John Murphy will be presenting on Tuesday, November 10.
https://dmd.uconn.edu/person/john-murphy
Title:
Title to be confirmed soon!
Abstract:
More information will be available soon!
Bio:
Dr. John Murphy, PhD., is an Assistant Professor-in-Residence of Digital Media Strategies at UConn’s Digital Media & Design department of UConn’s School of Fine Arts. sing the latest social & digital media analytics platforms and technologies, John Murphy assists Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, nonprofits, political candidates, advocacy organizations, and individuals with everything from the creation of a digital or social media department to discovering new ways to leverage data for increased productivity.
He translates social and digital media data and analytics into a story and explains how that story can be used to inform overall strategy as well as content creation, engagement, and department structure.
John’s professional passion is creating, leading, and partnering with digital media teams to harness the positive potential of social media. He also practices and teaches yoga, and surfs whenever he can get to the ocean.
John is the founder of UConn DMD’s Social Media Analytics Command Center (SMACC).