Alan D Heisel

Dr. Alan D. Heisel, Professor of Communication, serves as the special assistant to the Provost for Accreditation. Dr. Heisel has previously served as the interim associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication, the chairperson to the Department of Communication and Media, and the  special projects administrator for the College of Fine Arts and Communication. He is active in the Academic Research Collaborative involving a number of departments, St. Louis Public Radio, and the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri. He also serves on a number of college and university-wide committees related to assessment and strategic planning and has been a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission (the accrediting arm of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools) since 2009.

In terms of research, Dr. Heisel specializes in perception and emotion-related communication traits including communication apprehension, verbal aggression, empathy, and perspective-taking. He has a particular interest in physiological indicators that impact effective communication. Recently, he partnered with St. Louis Public Radio to conduct a study for the Missouri Foundation for Health exploring how members of the St. Louis area gather and share information about issues related to health, education, finance, etc. 

Courses recently taught include: Male-Female Communication; Nonverbal Communication; Organizational Communication; Research Methods; and Communication in the 2012 US Presidential election.