Each semester, the UConn Department of Communication welcomes expert guest lecturers to share insights and research from across the field of communication.
Dr. Lu Tang – Thursday, March 5th, 2026
Dr. Lu Tang (Professor, Texas A&M University) will present her talk, “Leveraging Emerging Technologies for Minority Health: A Community-Centered Health Communication Program” virtually on Thursday, March 5 at 12:30 pm.
Title:
Leveraging Emerging Technologies for Minority Health: A Community-Centered Health Communication Program.
Abstract:
This talk introduces a community-centered health communication research program that examines how marginalized communities access, interpret, use health information and how they manage their health. It also shows how emerging technologies can be designed to reduce, rather than reproduce, health inequities. Grounded in culture-centered and equity-focused communication theories, the research integrates qualitative, mixed, and participatory methods with digital design approaches.
Bio
Lu Tang is a Professor of Health Communication in the Department of Communication and Journalism at Texas A&M University. She also serves as Director of the Data Justice Lab, a research lab affiliated with the Texas A&M Institute of Data Science. She earned her doctorate from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California.
Her research examines how emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and chatbots, can be leveraged for health promotion, with particular attention to ethics and social justice. She also studies the content and diffusion of health information and misinformation on social media using computational methods such as natural language processing and social network analysis. In addition, her work explores culture, health communication, and minority health through mixed-methods approaches.
Her research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Dumitrița Hirtie – Thursday, March 26, 2026
Fulbright researcher, Dumitrița Hirtie, will present in-person at Arjona 225 on Thursday, March 26 her talk titled “From SNSPA to UCONN: Reflections of a Fulbright Journey.”
Title:
“From SNSPA to UCONN: Reflections of a Fulbright Journey”
Abstract:
Dumitrita will present her Fulbright experience as an aspirant, applicant, and successful candidate. As her grant nears its conclusion, the presentation will also include a reflection on the opportunities explored as a Visiting Student Researcher at UConn. Additionally, the presentation will look at what it means to be a PhD student in Romania.
Bio:
Dumitrita Hirtie is a Fulbright Visiting Student Researcher in the Department of Communication at UConn and a doctoral candidate in Communication Sciences at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA) in Bucharest, Romania. In her doctoral research, Dumitrita explores coaching practices from a communication perspective, particularly how coaching communication changes when coaching is conducted in person versus online.
Dumitrita worked in public relations and research roles in Romania and the United Arab Emirates for almost 15 years. In her free time, she takes care of her pets or rescues other animals that become her pets, and enjoys walking and running.
At UConn, Dumitrita conducts research in interpersonal communication in coaching, coordinated by Prof. Rory McGloin and Prof. Amanda Denes. Dumitrita is expected to defend her thesis “Online Coaching Practices: A Communication Perspective” in September 2026, under the supervision of Prof. Loredana Ivan (SNSPA).
Dr. Gwen Tarbox – Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Dr. Gwen Tarbox, Director, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), UConn, will present in-person on Tuesday, March 31.
Title:
“Foundational Learning in the Age of Gen AI Offloading and Co-Creating”
Abstract:
Learners who enter advanced coursework in possession of basic foundational knowledge and practices in their field are far more likely to achieve professional success. However, with the rise of readily accessible Gen AI tools, some of the foundational work in our disciplines might be offloaded or co-created, thus freeing human learners to move with more speed through the curriculum.
Contemporary educators are being called upon to determine whether — and how — foundational work could be allotted among humans and Gen AI tools. These choices require focused collaboration within fields, as well as an acknowledgement that the act of offloading and co-creating with Gen AI tools results in complex relational bonds for users.
In the past, developing a community of inquiry in a university classroom meant encouraging learners to acknowledge their own assumptions about a subject and to engage in thoughtful discourse and skill building with each other. Today, as Gen AI tools — and even agentic AI — are serving as thought partners, there is another being to consider, and my talk is intended to spark conversation as to how that can be done.
Bio:
Dr. Gwen Athene Tarbox is the Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of Connecticut. Her areas of expertise include equitable and accessible teaching practices, student engagement strategies, faculty professional development, and the impact of artificial intelligence on higher education. A professor emerita of English at Western Michigan University, where she was a faculty member for 26 years, Gwen has published widely on American culture, comics studies, children’s and YA literature, and pedagogy.
Dr. Cassandra Alexopoulos – Tuesday, April 7, 2026
Dr. Cassandra Alexopoulos, Associate Professor, UMass Boston will present in-person on Tuesday, April 7.
https://www.umb.edu/directory/calexopoulos
Previous Speaker Series Events
Dr. Jessica Gall Myrick – Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Dr. Jessica Gall Myrick presented on Tuesday, February 10 her talk, A Person-Centered Approach to Investigating the Role of Emotions in Media Effects; and to Charting Your Career Path.
Abstract:
Since the 1950s, scholars have investigated the role of emotions in media effects. In most current media effects paradigms, emotions are treated as (mostly) generalizable human responses to media stimuli. Meanwhile, the psychological sciences have developed different frameworks for understanding the nature and influence of emotions. As such, communication scholars are now challenged with integrating these updated perspectives on emotion science into media effects theorizing and research. This talk will present an overview of early efforts along these lines, including the results of two empirical studies of health-related media use from a person-centered perspective. Additionally, this talk will borrow the person-centered metaphor to discuss the speaker’s own career journey moving between one industry, academia, and now a different industry.
Bio:
Jessica Gall Myrick, PhD, MPH, is currently a Senior Clinical Scientist at Cook Medical. Previously, she was the Donald P. Bellisario Professor of Health Communication at Penn State University. After completing her PhD at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hil, she secured multiple federally funded and private grants and published more than 100 journal articles and two books on the interplay of emotion and cognition in shaping media effects, particularly in the context of messages about health, science, and the environment. Dr. Gall Myrick continues to consult and work on communication-related research and applied projects while spearheading patient engagement efforts for Cook Medical’s clinical trials. Prior to going to graduate school, Dr. Gall Myrick worked as a multimedia producer and reporter at a small public media outlet and as a director of experiential education and recruitment at a journalism school. She now lives in her home state of Indiana with her three young children and pug dog. Whenever she gets a chance, you will find her outside walking, hiking, or running.
