For her outstanding contributions to the advancement of women at Oakland University, Valerie Palmer-Mehta, Ph.D., associate professor of Communication and Journalism and Communication program director, has been named the 2016 Phyllis Law Googasian Award winner.
The Googasian Award honors a member of the Oakland University community who has contributed to the advancement of women at OU through distinguished leadership, scholarship, advocacy, mentoring and program development. The university and the American Council on Education Network for Women Leaders jointly present the award, which was established in 1992 in honor of Trustee Emerita Phyllis Law Googasian.
“This is a significant achievement and we are very proud of Valerie for being this year’s honoree,” said Jeff Youngquist, Ph.D., associate professor and chairperson for Communication and Journalism. “She is a role model to aspiring women and advocates for their success through her teaching, campus activism and her personal journey.”
Dr. Palmer-Mehta's intellectual interests sit at the intersection of Rhetorical Studies and Gender/Sexuality Studies. Her current research examines the varied rhetorical strategies women employ to influence public culture and transform intellectual traditions and everyday practices.
She also engages in rhetorically informed analyses of media representations of diverse women's ways of knowing and being, and their enactment of resistance.
Palmer-Mehta teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses including Introduction to Communication Studies; Rhetorical Theory; Persuasion; Rhetorical Criticism; Media Criticism; Women, Power & Persuasion; Multicultural Communication; and Feminist Rhetorical Theory.
In addition to her departmental role, Palmer-Mehta is a member of the Women and Gender Studies Executive Committee, the OU Academic Conduct Committee, the Women's Leadership Institute Advisory Board and serves as faculty advisor to the American Association of University Women student organization at OU.
Palmer-Mehta was recognized with the award during an annual award luncheon on April 15.
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