Academic Background

I began as a high school English, history and journalism teacher and after 30 years I retired as Professor of Communication and Dean Emerita of the Wichita State University College of Education.

During those years, I published academic articles and community-voice commentaries on education in Oklahoma and Kansas newspapers.

Since 2017 my Insight Kansas opinion editorials on education policy have appeared regularly in 30 Kansas newspapers and online.  I’m part of a group of Kansas professors who publish weekly under the title, Insight Kansas: Academic Insight into Kansas Politics.

I grew up in Tuttle, a small Oklahoma, farm town and attended the University of Oklahoma where I graduated with a BA in history.  Later, I completed an MS in mass communication and a Ph.D. in sociology both at Oklahoma State University.

In 1990 I became an assistant professor in the Elliott School of Communication at WSU, and in 1999 I was appointed Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences associate dean.

While a teaching professor, I authored two books and edited one book, held national offices in my academic disciplinary association and presented research at 40 national academic meetings.

I was invited to speak at four international conferences and, in 2005, co-chaired an International Media Tenor symposium panel held in Lugano, Switzerland.

I was promoted to the rank of Professor and served as dean of the College of Education from 2007 to 2013. 

During my tenure as dean, the college saw enrollment increases overall and received a $6.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education in partnership with Wichita Public Schools USD 259. I served as principal investigator.  I retired from WSU as Dean Emerita in 2015.

Currently, I am working on a book about the career in government service of my late husband L. Richard Iorio.