Communication Faculty
Mabry O'Donnell
McCoy Professor in Communication and Hillyer Professor in English Literature Rhetoric and Oratory, Director of Individual Events
Dept: Communication and Media Studies
740-376-4684
Office: MILLS 101
Degrees: Ph.D. in Interpersonal and Public Communication (Bowling Green); M.A. in Speech (Alabama); B.A. in Government (Louisiana State); A.A. (Stephens College).
Year appointed: 1969
Dr. O'Donnell is McCoy Professor of Communication and Hillyer Professor in English Literature, Rhetoric and Oratory at Marietta College. She has been Director of the Fundamentals of Oral Communication course since 1977 and Director of Forensics since 1995. She has received every teaching award at Marietta College including the Outstanding Faculty Award (three times), the McCoy Professorship, the Harness Fellowship (twice), and the Outstanding Faculty in Continuing Education. She has also received the Ohio Forensics Association Educator of the Year award and two Pi Kappa Delta Awards–E.R. Nichols and John Shields. At Marietta she also has been awarded the Douglas Putnam Faculty Service Award and the Faculty Advising Award. Ohio Magazine named her one of Ohio's top educators in December 2003. She has been a facilitator and consultant for American Cyanamid, Cleveland Area Board of Realtors, GE Plastics, and Thermo-Forma.
Her many professional and civic activities include the National Communication Association where she has served in many arenas--most recently as chair of the Undergraduate College and University Section, Ohio Academy of History, Ohio Forensic Association, and the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society. Dr. O'Donnell is a lifetime member of Pi Kappa Delta (Forensics Honorary), Omicron Delta Kappa (National Leadership Honor Society), Alpha Epsilon Rho (National Society for Radio and Television), and Phi Alpha Theta (National Honor Society in History). Her research interests include communication pedagogy, historical and women's communication, public address, and forensics.
Suzanne Walker
Associate Professor of Communication, Assistant Dean for First Year Experience and Advising
Dept: Communication and Media Studies
740-376-4628
Office: Mills Hall
Degrees: Ph.D. (Indiana); Master's (Indiana); Bachelor's (University of Indianapolis)
Year appointed: 1999
Dr. Walker's two research interests are communication apprehension and the role of empathy in communication. She teaches a variety of courses, including Basic Public Speaking, Fundamentals of Oral Interpretation, Persuasion, Integrated Marketing Communication, Parliamentary Procedure, etc.
Outside of the College, she is very active in community theatre both acting and directing with the Mid-Ohio Valley Players and the Showboat Becky Thatcher. She also occasionally consults with area organizations concerning meeting and presentation skills.
Liane Gray-Starner
Associate Professor
Dept: Communication and Media Studies
740-376-4680
liane.gray.starner@marietta.edu
Office: MILLS
Degrees: Ph.D. in Organizational Communication (Ohio University); Master's (Western Kentucky); Bachelor's (Wittenberg)
Year appointed: 2001
Dr. Gray-Starner is the president of Gray Star Communication. From 1994 until 2000 she worked as a senior consultant and master trainer with the Saturn Corporation.
Through Gray Star Communication Liane has worked with a variety of clients including, Delphi Automotive, Saab Cars USA, Door Training of Singapore, the GM Legal Staff, Saab Opel Sweden, Chevrolet, General Motors of Canada, General Motors Acceptance Corporation of Europe, GM Electro-Motive Division, Westvaco Corporation, and the Zeneca Corporation.
She is also a senior consultant with CEATH Company, Inc., a multinational training and consulting firm.
Through CEATH Company, Dr. Gray-Starner works with a variety of organizations, industries and institutes of higher education. These include, Berea College, the Appalachian College Association and the University of Kentucky. She specializes in communication skills, training design and development, customer service excellence, management and leadership styles, and organizational culture change. She is a trainer, speaker and consultant.
Closer to home, she consults with a number of organizations including; Washington State Community College, the Marietta Community Foundation, Marietta College, Marietta Memorial Hospital, Bird Watcher's Digest, Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Ohio, the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Ohio Osteopathic Association, and the Ohio Bankers League.
As a guest speaker, she has discussed a variety of topics of interest to organizations. She has addressed groups including, the American Society for Quality, Forma Scientific, Inc., Rotary Club of Marietta, and the Ohio Movers Association.
In the fall of 2001, Dr. Gray-Starner joined the Marietta College faculty and serves as an Associate Professor of Organizational Communication. This position allows her to continue to consult and train with organizations, while sharing her experience and knowledge with students. She is currently the Co- President for the Training and Development Division of the National Communication Association.
Dawn Carusi
Assistant Professor
Dept: Communication and Media Studies
740-376-4681
Office: Mills 109
Degrees: Ph.D. in Communication Studies (Ohio University), MA in Communication (West Chester University),BSED, Speech, Theatre and English (West Chester University)
Year appointed: 2003
Dr. Carusi began her undergraduate degree at West Chester University. During that time, she discovered the communication field and became fascinated by the complexity of human relationships. Also intrigued by student transformation aided by the guidance of mentors, she set her path to become a communication professor.
Before joining Marietta College in 2003, Dr. Carusi taught at West Chester University, Monmouth University, and The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC). She is proud to have earned service and teaching awards from West Chester University and UNCC, as well as Marietta College's Distinguished Advisor Award.
Dr. Carusi pursues two areas of research, communication education and narratives of loss. She has presented her research at the National Communication Association, Ohio Communication Association, and Eastern Communication Association annual conferences. She also holds an executive board member position in the Ohio Communication Association, and hosted the group's 2008 conference at Marietta.
Dr. Carusi teaches several courses including, The Fundamentals of Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Family Communication, Gender and Communication, Communication Research, and Communication Theory. She also co-advises Senior Capstones with Dr. Suzanne Walker.
When she is not enjoying her time within the Communication Department, Dr. Carusi can be found playing with her lovable cats Olivia and Luna or enjoying her home state of New Jersey.
Tomeka Robinson
Visiting Instructor, Communication; Assistant Director of Forensics
Dept: Communication and Media Studies
740-376-4546
Office: THMS 208
Degrees: Ph.D. in Health Education (Texas A&M University); 2009 (pending); Master of Arts in Communication (Texas A&M University); Bachelor of Science in Biology & Speech Communication (McNeese State University)
Year appointed: 2009
Ms. Robinson’s scholarly interests lie at the intersections of health communication, religion, policy, and genomics. She teaches a variety of courses, including Basic Public Speaking and Fundamentals of Oral Interpretation. Additionally, she is the Assistant Director of Forensics at Marietta. For her forensics coaching while at Texas A&M University, Ms. Robinson received the Carol Hickey Dedicated Service Award for the American Forensics Association-District III in 2009.
Her many professional society memberships include the National Communication Association, American Bioethics & Humanities Association, American Public Health Association, Pi Kappa Delta (Forensics Honorary), and the National Professional Women’s Association.
Beyond the academic walls, Ms. Robinson loves traveling and most enjoys spending time with her family and friends.
Alane Sanders
Instructor
Dept: Communication and Media Studies
740-376-4646
Office: MILLS
Degrees: Ph.D. in Philosophy (Ohio University); 2008 (pending); Master of Arts in Interpersonal Communication (Ohio University); Bachelor of Arts in Interpersonal Communication (Ohio State University)
Year appointed: 2008
Ms. Alane Sanders’ scholarly interests lie at the intersections of organizational, interpersonal and instructional realms. The majority of her research focuses on how communication practices structure and influence educational experiences. She enjoys examining discourses of teaching and learning, socialization processes in schools, forms of democratic organizing, and the co-creation of learning environments in a variety of settings.
She has published in the Southern Communication Journal, Communication Teacher, and the Journal of the First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, and has authored various book chapters. She is currently focused on completing her dissertation, which explores how emotion influences high school students’ communication and abilities to thrive at school.
Her research interests are deeply intertwined with her passion for teaching. She taught a variety of courses at Ohio University and Washington State Community College prior to coming to Marietta, and has received both department and university-wide awards for outstanding performance in the classroom.
Beyond academic walls, Ms. Sanders loves exploring the great outdoors, and most enjoys spending time with her family laughing about and sharing life’s (mis)adventures.
Barbara Hickman
Academic Secretary
Dept: Communication and Media Studies
740-376-4907
Office: MILLS 103
Year appointed: 1984