Josephine Whitfield

Background

Josephine Whitfield is on the faculty of the Department of Communication & Media and holds a Ph.D. from Kansas State University. Before Porter, Josephine produced video and podcasts for a media company.

Josephine's research focuses on technical and professional writing, with related work in public relations; undergraduates are involved in the lab most terms.

Areas of expertise

• Technical and professional writing
• Public relations
• Undergraduate research and project mentoring

Teaching

Josephine regularly teaches courses in Communication Studies, Professional & Technical Communication, English. Specific sections and syllabi are listed in the class schedule each term.

Courses lean on current problems from the field: students read recent work, reproduce a result or method, and then extend it. Josephine builds in low-stakes practice before graded work and gives written feedback on drafts.

Advising and office hours

Josephine advises students in the Communication & Media programs and holds weekly office hours during the fall and spring terms, posted on the office door and in the course pages. Prospective students are welcome to email to arrange a visit or a call.

Advising conversations usually cover course sequencing, whether to add a minor or a concentration, and how classroom work connects to internships, research, or graduate study. Students who are undecided are welcome; part of the job is helping them narrow things down.

Recent and representative work

Josephine's recent activity is a mix of peer-reviewed work, conference talks, and student-involved projects in technical and professional writing and public relations. Representative items:

• A peer-reviewed article on technical and professional writing in a disciplinary journal.
• A conference paper on public relations, co-authored with an undergraduate researcher.
• An internally funded project applying technical and professional writing to a regional partner's problem.

Titles and venues here are illustrative. UW–Porter Falls is fictional; Josephine has no real publication record.

Get in touch

The fastest way to reach Josephine is email (jwhitfield@uwporterfalls.edu); messages during the fall and spring terms are usually answered within two business days. Prospective students and families can ask the Communication & Media department office to set up a call, a class visit, or a meeting during an admitted-student day.