Mass Communication Faculty & Staff

Mary Deering
Office Manager

Phelps 126

Office Hours: Tuesday – Thursday 1-4pm

Email Mary Deering
Kay Hannahan
Assistant Professor

Phelps Hall 113E

507.457.5098

Education

  • MFA | Temple University
  • BA | Concordia University Montreal
  • Fulbright Research Grant recipient in Filmmaking | Hungary (2018-19)
Email Kay Hannahan
Davin Heckman
Professor

Phelps Hall 129E

507.457.5638

Education

  • PhD | Bowling Green State University
  • MA | University of Minnesota-Duluth
  • BA | University of San Diego
  • Fulbright scholar: digital culture | University of Bergen, Norway (2011-12)
Email Davin Heckman
Stacey Kanihan
Graduate Program Director, Associate Professor

Phelps Hall 113C

507.457.5231

Education

  • PhD | Stanford University
  • MBA | University of South Florida
  • BA | Wellesley College
Email Stacey Kanihan
Patrick Lichty
Assistant Professor

Phelps Hall 129C

507.457.5231

Education

  • MFA | Bowling Green State University
  • BS | University of Akron
Email Patrick Litchy
Jennifer T. Ma
Associate Professor

Phelps Hall 113B

507.457.5238

Education

  • PhD | University of Connecticut
  • MBA | Boston College
  • BA | LanZhou University
  • BL | LanZhou University
Email Jennifer T. Ma
Mike Martin
KQAL Operations Manager

Phelps Hall 130

507.457.5227

Email Mike Martin
Talan Memmott
Associate Professor

Phelps Hall 129F
507.457.2981

Education

  • PhD | Malmö University
  • MFA | Brown University
Email Talan Memmott
Tanya Ryan
Department Chair, Professor

Phelps Hall 125

507.457.2603

Education

  • PhD | University of Minnesota
  • MA | Bethel University
  • BA | Winona State University
Email Tanya Ryan
Bill Stoneberg
KQAL Program Coordinator

Phelps Hall B-24

507.457.5163

Doug Westerman
KQAL General Manager

Phelps Hall B-9

507.457.2364

Email Doug Westerman

Adjunct Faculty

Jennifer Bagdade, MA, APR
Principal | PR UNSPUN, LLC

As principal of PR UNSPUN, Jennifer Bagdade advises and counsels organizations navigating change, transition, and transformation to communicate at their best when it’s needed most.

Throughout her career, she has worked with a variety of public, private, and non-profit organizations, from global enterprise and local startups to counseling clients as well as providing communication and change management strategy and execution.

In addition to leading her own business, Jennifer has had extensive experience working for and with many organizations and agencies including Cargill, Travelers, Northwest Airlines, and Weber Shandwick.

Jennifer holds a master’s degree in International Communication from The American University in Washington, D.C., and a bachelor’s degree in history and French from Indiana University. She is also a Prosci Certified Change Management Practitioner and Accredited in Public Relations (APR).

An active member of PRSA, Jennifer served as the President of the Minnesota Chapter (2021) and remains involved with many other non-profit organizations.

Jonathan Locust, PhD

Dr. Locust is a consultant and strategist in the areas of equity, inclusion, workplace productivity, and statistical/process analysis.

Dr. Locust has held roles at educational institutions and worked in various sales roles at Key Bank, PNC Bank, and Western & Southern Life Insurance.

Dr. Locust is a certified six sigma black belt and has a thorough understanding of all aspects of the DMAIC model to improve process efficiency. His PhD is in Theory and Social Foundations, with a focus in Research and Measurement.

Dr. Locust was inducted into Euclid High School’s Distinguished Achievement Hall of Fame, his alma mater. He was also recognized by the University of Cincinnati as one of their 50 “Communication Alumni Champions,” honoring those who have excelled in their profession.

Dr. Locust was also the recipient of the “National Role Model” award from Minority Access, a non-profit organization with the mission of assisting institutions to recruit and retain under-served and under-represented populations.

Kristin Pinter, MBA
Senior Client Solutions Designer | Press Ganey

Kristin serves as Senior Client Solutions Designer within Press Ganey’s Commercial Enablement team. She is responsible for providing strategic guidance and creative support to the Growth and Executive teams for all client-facing deliverable needs.

With an expertise in Patient Experience survey design and process management, Kristin is committed to providing exceptional service and is an integral part of her team’s improvement initiatives.

Since joining Press Ganey in 2015, Kristin has served in different departments; in the Account Management department, she partnered with healthcare organizations across the nation for patient experience improvement.

In 2017, Kristin was awarded the Press Ganey “Power of One” trophy. In 2020, Kristin was promoted to Commercial Enablement, as one of its founding team members. In 2021, Kristin was promoted to her current role, where she is an integral part of the Press Ganey team and consistently demonstrates her expertise through creative strategy with a health care focus.

Kristin received her MBA from Indiana University and her bachelor’s degree from WSU. Kristin resides in Southern Michigan with her cat, dog, and partner Chris. In her free time, Kristin enjoys reading, painting, and researching advertising campaigns.

Jennifer Williamson, MA
Adjunct Faculty

Phelps Hall 113A

Over the past 20 years, Jennifer Williamson has worked to educate, train, and lead tomorrow’s workforce. She holds both a master’s degree in Organizational Communications and Development and a bachelor’s degree in Communication and Rhetorical Studies from Marquette University.

Jennifer’s career began as a special projects manager, in which she developed training seminars internally for employees and externally for customers. She started her teaching career at Concordia University in Wisconsin and then came to WSU.

In her current role at Winona State, Jennifer is developing online curricula for courses on Gender Communication, Speech Communication and Interpersonal Communication, while also developing and teaching in-person courses in Public Speaking, Principles of Public Relations, and Public Relations Writing.

Jennifer has worked as a volunteer for her local education system and has developed courses to enhance learning experiences for many types of students.

Jennifer has also owned a small business, and there she trained and supported the team that developed her products and provided her services.

Email Jennifer Williamson