Dr. Jane Elizabeth Fitzgibbon
Biography
Dr. Jane Fitzgibbon (Ph.D., Wayne State University) is a lecturer and is director of the business communication course. She is a member of the university's Academic Senate, an alternative on the Board of Governors Academic Affairs Committee, chair of the Senate Curriculum and Instruction Committee and faculty advisor for WSU's EcoCAR Team. Since 2005, she has been a faculty member of the Department of Communication. Her professional background includes many years in the automotive industry as an executive working in the areas of public relations, sales and marketing, strategic planning and dealer relations. At Wayne State, her primarily responsibility is for the Business Communication (COM 3300) course. She also teaches the social marketing class (COM 5130), introductory organizational communication (COM 3250), Communication Theory (COM 3400) and Organizational Communication (COM 6250). Her academic interests include organizational rhetoric, crisis and how individuals respond in a crisis.
View Prof. Fitzgibbon's curriculum vitae.
Academic Interests
Professor Fitzgibbon has been a faculty member in the Department of Communication at Wayne since the fall of 2005. Her professional background includes many years in the automotive industry as an executive working in the areas of public relations, sales and marketing, strategic planning and dealer relations.
Area of Expertise
Professor Fitzgibbon is primarily responsible for the Business Communication (COM 3300), but she also teaches the Department's introductory Organizational Communication class (COM 3250); Communication Theory (COM 3400) and Persuasion (COM 2170). Her academic interests also include organizational rhetoric, crisis and how individuals respond in a crisis. She seeks to actively engage her students to enhance their academic learning.
Degrees and Certifications
2004 Ph.D. in Communication, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI. Emphasis in Organizational Communication. Minor: Marketing. Dissertation: “The story of a merger: Daimler-Chrysler” Advisor: Matthew Seeger PhD.
1995 MA in Organizational Communication and Public Relations, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI Advisor: Dr. Matthew Seeger
Primary Research Interest
Rhetoric in Organizational Crisis and Change, Team Centered Management, Communication and Organizational Culture, Ethics in Organizations, Rhetorical Strategies Employed by Organizations and Hate Groups. On a second level how visual culture shapes our world.
Recent Publications
Lessons for Crisis Communication: The Crisis Preparation, Media Use, and Information Seeking of Katrina Evacuees. Spence, P. Lachlan, K. Burke, J. Fitzgibbon, J. Sibal, K.M. Mukhopadhyay, A. Miller, S. Top Three Papers In Applied Communication Research, NCA 2006 Convention, San Antonio.:
Responsibilities
University
Business Communication Course Director and Advisor to Public Relations Students (Undergraduate and Masters Students)
Member of departmental committee on Communication Studies Program (2008) & Academic Advising (2010)
Member Academic Senate (2010) & Facilities, Support Services and Technology (FSST) Committee,
Other
Reviewer for Organizational Studies (Sage)
Office Hour Fall 2011
Students are advised to email for appointment