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School of Communication and Journalism

Jennifer Anderson

Jennifer Anderson, Associate Professor of Communication in the School of Communication & Journalism at South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University

Title

Professor, Communication Studies

Office Building

Pugsley Center

Office

115B

Mailing Address

Pugsley Cont Ed Center 115B
School of Communication and Journalism-Box 2218
University Station
Brookings, SD 57007

Biography

Jenn Anderson (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is a professor of communication studies in the School of Communication and Journalism at South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University.
Dr. Anderson's teaching, research and service are in the area of health communication. She launched the Health Communication Minor in 2014, taking it fully online in 2018. She is also authoring a health communication textbook, which will be released in Fall 2024 by Cognella Publishing. Dr. Anderson has received over $600,000 in grant funding for health communication research and has 41 peer-reviewed publications in the field, which have been cited over 700 times. She currently serves as the secretary for the International Collaborative for Interdisciplinary Health Communication Research, which is a partnership between the Health Communication Division of the International Communication Association and the European Association for Communication in Heath Care.

CV

Jennifer-Anderson-CV.pdf(1.05 MB)

Education

  • B.A. in communication| Truman State University | 2004
  • M.A. in communication | Miami University | 2008
  • Ph.D. in communication | Michigan State University | 2012

Academic Interests

  • Health communication
  • Stigma communication
  • Community-based participatory research
  • Social justice
  • Research methodology (surveys, measurement, interviews, focus groups, qualitative data analysis, statistics)

Academic Responsibilities

  • Interpersonal Communication (CMST 201) 
  • Communication Research (CMST 305)
  • Health Communication (CMST 440/540)
  • Current Issues in Health Communication (CMST 441/541)
  • Research in Communication & Media (CMST 787)

Dr. Anderson also mentors undergraduate and graduate student research. Two of her advisees have won the Outstanding Master's Thesis à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã from SDSU (2023 Shannon Pappas, 2019 Rikki Roscoe, Ph.D.) Her students have also published their research in scholarly, peer-reviewed journals, presented their research at local, regional and national conferences and won awards for their work at SDSU's Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Day event. 

Committees and Professional Memberships

Committees

  • Secretary, International Collaborative for Interdisciplinary Health Communication Research
  • Chair, School of Communication and Journalism Promotion and Tenure Committee
  • Assessment Lead for Communication Studies Program, COJO Assessment Committee

Professional Memberships

  • European Association for Communication in Healthcare
  • International Communication Association
  • National Communication Association 
  • Central States Communication Association

à£à£Ö±²¥Ðãs and Honors

  • 2023, Federation Prize, Central States Communication Association, $5,000 
  • 2023, Excellence in Online Teaching, $1,500 stipend, South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã State University 
  • 2022, Top Paper, Political Communication Interest Group, Central States Communication Association

Grants

  • O’Shay, S., Phillips, K. and Anderson, J. Stigma management communication scale development. Central States Communication Association Federation Prize, 2023-2024, $5,000.
  • Anderson, J. and Isaacson, M. Culturally responsive palliative care messaging for American Indians: An efficacy trial (à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã No. R21NR020383) [grant]. National Institute of Nursing Research of the National Institutes of Health, 2022-2023, $368,794. 

Areas of Research

Understanding how we talk about health issues helps us develop innovative, sustainable approaches to improving health in our communities. Here are a few examples of concrete applications of Anderson's research:

  • Anderson's research about cyberbullying on Facebook has been used across the U.S. and Canada to develop anti-cyberbullying campaigns in K-12 school settings.
  • Anderson's work with Brookings Supports Breastfeeding led to the South à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã Department of Health's statewide Breastfeeding-Friendly Business Initiative, which encourages businesses to have policies and practices to support breastfeeding employees and customers.
  • Anderson's breastfeeding research, and advocacy through the Faculty Senate, also led to an SDSU policy that all new buildings on campus must have a "Mother's Room" available for mothers to breastfeed or express breast milk. All Mother's Rooms are also indicated on campus maps and with indoor signage.

Publications

  1. Anderson, J. (2023). . In E. Ho, C. Bylund, and J.C.M. van Weert (Eds.) International Encyclopedia of Health Communication. Wiley. DOI: 10.1002/9781119678816.iehc0904  
  2. Anderson, J. (2023). . In E. Ho, C. Bylund, and J.C.M. van Weert (Eds.) The International Encyclopedia of Health Communication. Wiley. DOI: 10.1002/9781119678816.iehc0535  
  3. Anderson, J. and Coduto, K. (2022). . American Behavioral Scientist. DOI: 10.1177/00027642221132796
  4. Anderson, J., Lapinski, M. K., Turner, M. M., Peng, T.-Q. and Schmälzle, R. (2022). . Health Communication, 37(10), 1285-1294. DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2021.1886398  
  5. Coduto, K. and Anderson, J. (2021). . Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 65(3), 321-335. DOI: 10.1080/08838151.2021.1972114

Department(s)

Related Links

Online Health Communication Minor