My personal life has become more exciting since I moved here in 1991.  The summer before I moved here I met a man who was later to become my husband in 1993.  We had a long-distance relationship for a year and a half before finally getting married---a hard decision for two never-been-married single persons.  We since have become a "family," with the addition of our two adopted daughters from China, Naomi and Elizabeth (Libby). If anyone is interested in adopting from China, they can visit the Families with Children from China website or feel free to contact me via e-mail. We all enjoy playing with our pets: One dog (Tucker, a Standard Poodle) and two cats (Snip & Spencer, Maine Coon cats).

One of the most central things in my life is my relationship to God. My spiritual faith journey has been an exciting one for me. I grew up in a conservative Christian home, where my father was a part of the church ministerial staff. I continued in that tradition until late in my graduate school career, where I began investigating other expressions of Christian faith that made me realize that I could have a more personal relationship with God, which went beyond just going to church and performing spiritual duties. I began to truly believe that God unconditionally loves and accepts me, no matter where I've been or what I've done, and is at work today in powerful ways, especially among the young adults of this generation (e.g., Jesus Culture website & videos). God has forgiven all of my sins, because Jesus paid the penalty I owed for my own sins on the cross. (I do not attempt to push my beliefs onto any of my students or colleagues, but am open to talk about them if anyone so desires. For students who might be interested in investigating this from the perspective of "truth," check out the following link: The Veritas Forum). We currently attend Vineyard Community Church in Waverly, Iowa (where my husband is one of the pastors); our church was started as a church plant from Waterloo's Heartland Vineyard Christian Fellowship in April, 2000. All are welcome to come visit our contemporary church, which is grounded in the historic Christian faith, at 10:00 Sunday mornings in our building at 319 W. Bremer in Waverly.

Professionally, at the University of Northern Iowa, I generally teach three classes per semester. You can find the classes I have taught by going to teaching interests on the side menu of my web-site. My research interests are also listed there. I currently am the Graduate Director for our Communication Studies Department's Graduate Program. In the past, I coordinated the Communication Program of the Communication Studies Department from Spring, 1993 to Summer, 1995, and served most recently as part of a coordinating team for the program. I serve on a variety of departmental and university committees, including the university's Foundation of Excellence first-year self-study (for which I am the faculty co-liaison, along with Jon Buse, the staff co-liaison), the university's HLC re-accreditation steering committee, the Undergraduate Committee on Curricula, and Residency Review Committee. I also am involved in both undergraduate and graduate advising of a small number of students. Before coming to the University of Northern Iowa, I was a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Communication, University of Oklahoma from Fall, 1984 to Spring, 1991. At the University of Oklahoma, I taught Principles of Communication (both basic and honors sections), Public Speaking, Communication Skills in Leadership (Continuing Education), Advanced Interpersonal Communication, Interviewing, and Small Group Communication.