Faculty

David P. Keppel is an Associate Professor of communication at Slippery Rock University. He primarily teaches in the area of digital media production with an emphasis on digital design, the production of interactive multimedia, and an analysis of the issues inherent to communication technology. He also serves as a freelance designer, web developer, and a print and eBook producer for a variety of individuals and organizations around the world.

Brett A. Barnett is a Professor of Strategic Communication and Media at Slippery Rock University. He teaches communication law, civil discourse and a variety of media production courses. A native of Bellville, Ohio, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Telecommunication and Electronic Media from Ohio State University, a master’s degree in Mass Media Communication from the University of Akron and a doctoral degree in Communication from Bowling Green State University. He has worked in the television and video industries, and his research interests include First Amendment law, communication ethics, Internet speech, the rhetoric of hate groups and other extremists, as well as the rhetorical nature of song narratives.

A recipient of the President’s Award for Scholarly and Creative Achievement, Dr. Barnett has published essays in various academic journals, including Ethical Space, the quarterly journal of the UK-based Institute of Communication Ethics, and the international journals Perspectives on Terrorism and Journal of Hate Studies. He is also author of the book Untangling the Web of Hate: Are Online “Hate Sites” Deserving of First Amendment Protection? Additionally, he has published essays examining the lyrical rhetoric of song narratives in peer-reviewed journals, including Metal Music Studies, the publication of the International Society of Metal Music Studies, and Relevant Rhetoric, the journal sponsored by the Communication and Rhetorical Studies Department at Idaho State University.

Dr. Barnett has presented research at a variety of national and international conferences, including annual meetings of the National Communication Association, Broadcast Education Association, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, National Homeland Security Association and the International Conference on Hate Studies. He has also presented research at a variety of regional conferences, including the annual meetings of the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association, Eastern Communication Association (ECA), Central States Communication Association (CSCA), Pennsylvania Communication Association, Ohio Communication Association and the New York State Communication Association. Additionally, he received top paper awards in ECA’s Communication Law and Ethics Interest Group and in CSCA’s Rhetorical Theory and Criticism Division.

Dr. Barnett has served various university roles and committees at SRU, including the President’s Commission for Disability Issues, President Norton’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Leadership Team, University Tenure and Sabbatical Committee, University Promotion Committee and the University Professional Development Committee. Additionally, he has served as member of the Alumni Awards Committee and Media Hall of Fame Inductee Committee, chair of the Communication Scholarship Committee and as an advisor to the Prelaw Program. Beyond university service, Dr. Barnett has also served many years as judge for the Festival of Media Arts Faculty Video Competition of the Broadcast Education Association and reviewed essays for journals such as Western Journal of Communication and the UK-based journal Social Semiotics.

Dr. Franklyn Charles is an assistant professor in the communication department at SRU. He received his PhD in Media Studies from Ohio University Scripps School of Communication. Dr. Charles research interest includes AutoEthnography, Digital Storytelling, Media Production, and Caribbean Sound System Culture. His dissertation research examined how disruptive technologies have impacted the performance of competitors through the adaptation of new sound reproduction components. Dr. Charles enjoys teaching and working with enthusiastic students who are passionate about Media and Communication. In his spare time, he enjoys drone videography, 360 video production, and working on cars.

Daniel Dieter is an Assistant Professor of Strategic Communication and Media teaching in the areas of Health Communication, Environmental Communication, and Mass Media. His research interests include healthcare and technology, in particular the human impact of media and advanced technology like artificial intelligence.

Dr. Dieter earned his PhD in Media and Communication Studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in English at Youngstown State University, and a B.S. in Communication from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. For over 30 years prior to joining the SRU faculty, he served in strategic communication and media management roles in a variety of industries, most notably in positions with global responsibility in the medical device and pharmaceutical fields, in professional services, and in education, including his role as assistant director in the Marketing & Public Relations department at Geneva College where he also taught communication classes.

His academic research has been published in Process Improvement Journal, the Journal of Science and Popular Culture, the Journal of the American Society for Competitiveness, and Southern Communication Journal.

Emily A. Dolan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and Sport Management at Slippery Rock University. She teaches core and elective courses in the department, including Communication Research Methods, Communication Concepts, Civil Discourse, and Persuasion. As a testament to her dedication to and love of teaching, she was awarded SRU's President's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2025.

Dr. Dolan maintains an active research agenda examining commitment and persistence in the context of intercollegiate athletics, focusing specifically on NCAA transfer portal entry intentions and outcomes among college student-athletes. Her work has been published in journals including Media Psychology, Social Influence, The Pennsylvania Communication Annual, and College Media Review, and she has won or shared top paper awards at the annual conferences of the International and National Communication Associations.

Dr. Dolan's service activities reflect a commitment to research ethics, institutional assessment, and campus climate. At the university level, she serves as Vice Chair of SRU's Institutional Review Board, which oversees human subjects research at SRU. She also serves on the President's Commission on Women, having previously served as co-chair for three years, and on the University Assessment Committee. She also co-chairs the SRU’s President's Award for Excellence in Teaching committee. At the college level, she serves on the Haverlack College of Business's Strategic Plan Steering Committee, contributing to the development of both college- and department-wide strategic plans. At the department level, Dr. Dolan co-chairs the Department Curriculum and Assessment Committee and serves on the Faculty Evaluation, Tenure, and Promotion Committee.

Dr. Brittany Fleming is an associate professor and the faculty adviser for the award-winning student media organizations WSRU-TV and The Rocket. She received her doctorate in Communications Media and Instructional Technology from IUP in 2015, while working for the university's Center for Media Production and Research and reporting at Renda Broadcasting. Teaching in both the converged journalism and digital media concentrations in the department, Dr. Fleming continues to emphasize the importance of local journalism and convergence training in higher education through publications, presentations and panels with organizations such as the Broadcast Education Association and College Media Association. Dr. Fleming serves on the Executive Council for the Society for Collegiate Journalists, as a co-chair for SRU's President's Commission on Women and the secretary for the APSCUF Social Justice Committee. 

Under Dr. Fleming's advisement, SRU student media has achieved over 100 awards from national organizations such as Pennsylvania News Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association, and Society for Collegiate Journalists. Dr. Fleming's recognition for student media advising includes SRU's 2017 and 2021 Club Adviser of the Year and the National Broadcasting Society's 2018-2019 Adviser of the Year.

Thomas R. Flynn is a Professor of Integrated Marketing Communication. He is a former of Chair of the Department of Strategic Communication & Media and served as University Coordinator of Assessment for Slippery Rock University. He holds communication degrees from the University of Toledo (B.A.), Ohio University (M.A.) and the University of Nebraska (Ph.D.). 

His teaching specialties have included: integrated marketing communication, public relations, organizational communication, research methods and communication law. He is co-author of the textbook: Integrated Marketing Communication: A Consumer-Centric Approach for the Digital Era (Kendall Hunt Publishing, Inc.  2021).

He served as president of the Eastern Communication Association (2014-2015) and continues to serve as a member of its Executive Council. He also holds memberships in the National Communication Association and New York State Communication Association and participates in their annual conventions.

Academically, he has authored over a dozen publications and presented well over one hundred peer-reviewed conference papers. Recently, he has conducted a number of convention “short courses” on the development and curation of IMC programs in higher education at NCA and ECA

Dr. Fadoua Loudiy is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Strategic Communication and Media. She teaches FYRST Seminar, Intercultural Communication, Propaganda, Civil Discourse, and Communication Concepts. 

Dr. Loudiy is the co-Director of the Middle East Studies Center and the faculty advisor to the UNICEF club. She is a member of the President’s Commission on Sustainability and actively contributes to the university’s efforts on global learning and DEI. 

Dr. Loudiy is the second Vice-President Elect of the Pennsylvania Communication Association. Her scholarship focuses on cosmopolitan learning, rhetorics of resistance, communication ethics, and philosophy of communication. She has published several journal articles and book chapters on human rights and transitional justice, and is the author of Transitional Justice and Human Rights in Morocco: Negotiating the Years of Lead (Routledge, 2019). 

https://slipperyrock.academia.edu/FadouaLoudiy 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fadoua-loudiy-ph-d/

Christine Pease-Hernandez is a Professor of Communication and Media at Slippery Rock University. She teaches Intercultural Communication, Communication Concepts/Theory, Civil Discourse, and Interpersonal Communication.

A native of Bay City, Michigan, Dr. Pease-Hernandez received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Saginaw Valley State University, a master's degree in Interpersonal and Public Communication from Bowling Green State University, a master’s degree in Professional Counseling from Central Michigan University, and a doctoral degree in Communication and Culture from Bowling Green State University. Her teaching philosophy centers on creating a student-centered, inclusive, and engaging learning environment that challenges students to engage in constructive dialogue and consider diverse perspectives.

Dr. Pease-Hernandez’s extensive university service includes DEI faculty development, Co-Chair of the President's Commission on Race and Ethnic Diversity, Presidential Search Committees, CBISS Dean's Search Committee, Respect Campaign Committee, and the Jump Start Advisory Board. She was also elected to serve APSCUF as an Alternate Delegate, a member of the Negotiations, and Social Justice Committees. In the Communication and Media Department, she has served on several committees.

Dr. Pease-Hernandez engages in scholarship in the areas of infusing diversity into the curriculum, constructive dialogue, implicit bias, navigating difficult conversations, and critical pedagogy. Most recently, she was recognized as an Academy of Teaching Scholar, earned her certificate as an Exemplary Advisor, and received the PASSHE Keeper of the Flame award for her commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

International service activities include accompanying students on three community engagement/service-learning trips (2 to Bolivia, and 1 to Puerto Rico) and accompanying students affiliated with the Center for Student Leadership and Involvement on a leadership trip to Peru. She has also led spring break study abroad excursions to Spain and Portugal. As part of her sabbatical, she taught at the University of Alcalá de Henares in Spain.

As an associate professor at Slippery Rock University, I bring more than 30 years of public relations and integrated marketing communication experience from agency, corporate and nonprofit settings into the classroom. Before entering academia, I served as a senior vice president at Ketchum, where I developed national media strategies for major clients, served on the agency’s Global Media Network and helped lead Ketchum University, developing media relations training delivered to offices across six continents. I also held communication roles with Rite Aid Corporation and the Pennsylvania Gas Association.

My teaching focuses on career readiness, strategic thinking and real-world client experience. I teach courses across the PR and IMC curriculum, and through our PR & IMC campaigns capstone, my students have partnered with nearly 80 businesses and nonprofit organizations to develop strategic communication campaigns. I have led PR and IMC immersion trips to Denmark, Sweden and Spain and serve as faculty adviser to Rock PRSSA, named PRSA Pittsburgh’s Chapter of the Year in 2025 and 2026. I was a finalist for the university’s President’s Award for Teaching Excellence in 2019. One of the most rewarding parts of teaching is watching students discover what they do well and begin to see themselves as communication professionals.

In addition to my faculty role, I serve as communication and innovation coordinator for the Haverlack College of Business and co-direct the communication department’s professional advisory board. My scholarship focuses on the rhetoric of PR and IMC, crisis communication and brand activism. My research has been published in the Journal of Media Ethics, and I regularly present at the National Communication Association and Eastern Communication Association conferences. I remain engaged with the profession as senior practitioner chair on the PRSA Pittsburgh board and previously served a five-year term on the New York State Communication Association executive council, including as president in 2022. I earned a Ph.D. in rhetoric and an M.A. in communication and rhetoric from Duquesne University and a B.A. in Spanish and journalism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Li Pu is an Associate Professor of communication at Slippery Rock University. She teaches in the areas of broadcast journalism, international journalism and television production related courses.

Dr. Pu has been a member of several regional and national professional organizations including the National Communication Association, Broadcast Education Association, East Communication Association, Academy of Television Arts and Science (Academic Group), and International Association of Intercultural Communication.

Dr. Quinn is a professor and former chair of the Department of Strategic Communication and Media. She teaches journalism, public relations, health communication, and media literacy courses. She is adviser to College Dress Relief, a digital and social media group centered on fashion and sustainability, and SRU’s chapter of Turning Point USA.

A Hazel Dicken-Garcia Distinguished Scholar of Journalism History, Dr. Quinn is an editor of The Civil War Soldier and the Press (Routledge, 2023: https://t.ly/tjRNh) and Adventure Journalism in the Gilded Age: Essays on Reporting from the Arctic to the Orient (McFarland, 2021: https://rb.gy/s75dix), recognized as “Best Edited Collection in Popular and American Culture” by the Popular Culture Association, 2022. Her research has been presented to communication, literature, and historical conferences across the country and published in an array of scholarly journals and edited books.

Dr. Quinn’s professional experience includes eight years as a public affairs specialist for the USDA Food and Nutrition Service in Boston, as well as ongoing consultation and pro bono journalism and public relations work. She has additional faculty experience at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Iona College, and Westmoreland County Community College, and is a former co-chair of the University Curriculum Committee.

Specialties: journalism and reporting, journalism history, public relations, strategic communication, publication production, writing, public affairs and government communication

Nazmul is an Associate Professor of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC)- Advertising at the Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. Nazmul completed his Ph.D. in Strategic Communication (Advertising) from the Gaylord College at the University of Oklahoma. His concentration was advertising. He completed his master’s from the same college. Dr. Rony received his Bachelor of Business Administration (major in marketing) and Master of Business Administration (major in international business) degrees from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Before starting his academic career at OU, he worked for more than six years in local and multinational companies as a marketing and brand executive. Dr. Rony also contributed as a feature writer in Bangladeshi national dailies. His areas of interest include researching social media advertising, consumer motivation, consumer attitude, and brand experience. He presented in international and national conferences, including the American Academy of Advertising (AAA), the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), the International Communication Association (ICA), and the National Communication Association (NCA). He is a recipient of “The 2017 Provost’s Certificate of Distinction in Teaching Award.” Dr. Rony is also an alum of the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) Education Foundation Visitor Professor Program (VPP). He also received funding from the Center for Positive Marketing and the ANA Education Foundation to research positive marketing.

Douglas Strahler, Ed.D., is a Professor of Strategic Communication & Media at Slippery Rock University, where he teaches courses in digital design, visual communication, media project management, web and media production, and UX/UI. He holds an Ed.D. in Instructional Technology and Leadership from Duquesne University, an M.S. in New Media from Syracuse University, and a B.S. in Communication from Slippery Rock University.

His teaching and scholarship explore community-engaged learning, high-quality community partnerships, faculty development, innovative pedagogy, inclusive design, and emerging communication technologies. Strahler is a Campus Compact Certified Community Engagement Professional and has earned credentials in community-engaged teaching and learning, community partnerships, engaged faculty development, community engagement fundamentals, and equity and inclusion. He has contributed to faculty development and practitioner-scholar initiatives through Campus Compact and the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, including serving as a co-facilitator of IARSLCE's Practitioner-Scholar Community. 

He is also a recipient of Slippery Rock University's President's Award for Excellence in Teaching and was inducted into the university's Academy of Teaching Scholars.