Communication Ethics: Activities for Critical Thinking and Reflection

Spoma Jovanovic (Ph.D., University of Denver) is a Professor in Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. She collaborates on community initiatives with grassroots organizations to advance dialogue and creative action. A former Chair of the Communication Ethics Division of the National Communication Association, Jovanovic is author of Democracy, Dialogue and Community Action: Truth and Reconciliation in Greensboro (University of Arkansas) and a 2019-2020 Fellow with the University of California’s National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement.

Tammy Swenson-Lepper (Ph.D., University of Minnesota) is a Professor and internship director in the Communication Studies Department at Winona State University. Her research interests include communication ethics, ethical sensitivity, pedagogy and communication ethics, organizational communication, and service learning. She is a former Chair of the Communication Ethics Division of the National Communication Association. Her most recent publication, for which she was lead author, “Cyberbullies, Trolls, and Stalkers: Students’ Perceptions of Ethical Issues in Social Media,” was published in the Journal of Media Ethics.

Leeanne M. Bell McManus (Ph.D., Duquesne University, 2007) is a professor in the Business Communication Department at Stevenson University and the Vice President of the Eastern Communication Association. She has co-authored two books, Communication Ethics Literacy: Dialogue and Difference (with Ronald C. Arnett and Janie Harden Fritz) and Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice (with Chip Rouse and Stephanie Verni). She has published excerpts in Integrated Marketing Communication: Creating Spaces for Engagement (with Chip Rouse), Exploring Communication Ethics: Interviews with Influential Scholars in the Field (with Ronald C. Arnett and Pat Arneson), and The Encyclopedia of Social Identity. Dr. Bell McManus has also published in Atlantic Journal of Communication, Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, Communication Annual: Journal of the Pennsylvania Communication Association, Communication Education, Journal of the Association for Communication Administration, and Review of Communication.

Melba Vélez Ortiz (Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) was born and raised in Puerto Rico and is an Associate Professor of Communication at Grand Valley State University. She is a former Chair of the Communication Ethics Division of the National Communication Association. Her research interests include communication ethics, global ethics, intellectual history, and environmental communication. Her most recent publication Maatian Ethics in a Communication Context (Routledge Press, 2020) details how the classical ethical approach of Ma’at guided public communication practices in ancient Egypt.

Robert L. Ballard (Ph.D., University of Denver) is the former Blanche E. Seaver Professor of Communication at Pepperdine University. He researches communication ethics and intercountry adoption. His work has appeared in Encyclopedia of Communication Ethics, Sage Encyclopedia of Research Methods, Communication Education, International Review of Qualitative Research, Journal of Family Communication, and Qualitative Inquiry. He is a former Chair of the Communication Ethics Division of the National Communication Association and was named Communication Ethics Teacher of the Year in 2015.

Michelle A. Leavitt (Ph.D., University of Denver) is Past Chair of the Communication Ethics Division of the National Communication Association and an Instructor at William Jessup University in San Jose, California. Her research interests include communication ethics, civil rights, and rhetoric. She has co-authored two publications, which appear in Communication Education and the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

Lori Charron (Ph.D., University of Minnesota) is a Professor of Business & Communication. Additionally, she is the department’s Basic Course Director and Editorial Board member for The Journal of Literacy and Technology (JLT). Her academic interests include communication ethics, interpersonal communication (focusing on leadership), and communication pedagogy. Her most recent, lead author, publication is entitled, Credo for Ethical Distance Learning, published in JLT, 2020. Dr. Charron’s vocational passion is making her academic interests relevant for her students.