University News

Smith to Deliver Annual Wayne N. Thompson Scholar Lecture April 1

March 20, 2019

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MACOMB, IL – Pennsylvania State University Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and Human Development and Family Studies Rachel A. Smith will deliver the 29th annual Wayne N. Thompson Scholar Lecture at 3:30 p.m. Monday, April 1 in the University Union Heritage Room.

Smith is also an investigator in the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics at Pennsylvania State University. She will deliver "Linked: The Social Science of Personal Influence and Public Stigma" at Western Illinois University.

As a quantitative social scientist, Smith studies how the process of persuasion is inherently social. Her research has clarified how personal relationships shape the effects of persuasive communication, and how persuasive communication affects relationships and social networks.

Her theoretical advances and empirical studies show how social influence creates widespread social change and shapes collective norms, including powerful social forces such as bonding, rivalry and stigmas. Her research has been funded by NIH, the Gates Foundation, CDC, USAID and private foundation. She will be speaking to select communication courses on Macomb's campus Monday, April 1, and will be a guest lecturer for ommunication majors on WIU's Quad Cities campus Tuesday, April 2.

Smith's collaborations with community partners are integral to her scholarship, and she was named the 2019 Public Health Ambassador by the Pennsylvania Secretary of Health.

The Wayne N. Thompson Lecture is named to honor WIU alumnus Wayne Thompson, who was a former professor of speech communication. An endowment in his name helps sponsor a number of department programs to enhance learning and scholarship in the field of communication, including this lecture by a prominent scholar in the field.

For more information, contact the WIU Department of Communication at (309) 298-1507.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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