Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Hobby: Walking along lake paths and river trails
Favorite Authors: Dostoyevsky, Toni Morrison, Jane Smiley

People would be surprised to know that: "I worked at Mellon Bank for 10 years in corporate communications and human resources functions, and managed the corporation’s retirement plan."

I’ll never forget the first class I taught: interpersonal communications. When I walked to the front of the class and started teaching, I knew I wanted to be a professor for the rest of my life. A decade in the corporate world really honed my technical writing craft, but I was glad to return to a university because I have a real drive to teach.

I am just bowled over by the expertise of our faculty. Our school combines a number of fields, but underlying everything we do is the importance of knowing our audience. When we design information for anything - the Web, software, systems, videos, new media, graphics, all the things we do in this school - we have to understand for whom we're designing it, in a very deep sense.

Our blend of theory and practice sets the school apart. We start with very high quality programs, then combine classroom learning with an emphasis on engaged learning and internships, something our strong connections to the corporate world make possible for our students. And we are always thinking strategically about ways to build on those foundations with new programs and new ways to collaborate with industry.