The College of Communication and Fine Arts is happy to welcome two new full-time faculty members to our Communication Studies Department. Communication Studies is the largest major in the college, and the second largest at LMU. The department now boasts 18 full-time faculty members as well as many part-time faculty, to round out the talented teaching staff.
Shaun Anderson joins CFA as an assistant professor. He completed his B.A. in Mass Communication at The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, earned an M.S. in Mass Communication at Arkansas State University and a Ph.D. in Organizational Communication from West Virginia University. Dr. Anderson’s research explores issues surrounding professional sport organizations, with an emphasis on community outreach. From an engaged scholarship perspective, Dr. Anderson examines how athletes engage in different forms of public advocacy and activism. His work has appeared in Psychology of Popular Media Culture, Sport Marketing Association conference proceedings, and in the book, Fantasy Sports and the Changing Sports Media Industry: Media, Players, and Society.
“We are very excited to have Dr. Anderson join our department,” said Dr. Michele Hammers, Chair of LMU’s Communication Studies Department. “His research on sports communication, community outreach, and social activism will add a unique element to our course offerings. Dr. Anderson’ research is particularly important given our location in Los Angeles, which hosts several professional sports franchises.”
Allison Noyes Soeller also joins CFA as an assistant professor. She received her B.A. in Politics from Mount Holyoke College and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Organizational Communication from the University of Southern California. She has spent the last two years doing research at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and teaching in the graduate communication management program at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Dr. Soeller recently co-authored a book chapter entitled Patient and Family Education: A Health System Approach and an article entitled A Professional Ladder for Interpreters: Improving quality and outcomes of care in a Health System, with a research team at CHLA.
“Dr. Soeller’s concentration on the effectiveness of team-based care within health care settings adds important opportunities for course offerings and student engagement,” said Dr. Hammers. “Her focus on collaboration, team cultures and power dynamics, and strategic communication, is applicable across any number of professional areas, and we look forward to exploring all that she can offer our students.”
These new faculty members join a department that already provides students with a wide-range of classes and many opportunities for engagement outside of the classroom. Dr. Hammers views the addition of these new faculty as an exciting moment of growth for the department, saying that “Each new faculty member expands the reach of our departmental expertise and contributes to our thriving culture of exploration—both in and out of the classroom”
