Katherine Becker
Ph.D. Student, 2nd year
Office: Merrill G33
Phone: 414-229-4261
e-mail: becker62@uwm.edu
Curriculum Vitae: PDF
Degrees:
Ph.D., Degree in Communication, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2015 (anticipated)
M.A., Degree in Communication, University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, 2009
B.A., Degree in Speech Communication, University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, 2007, cum laude with High Departmental Distinction
Focus of Graduate Studies:
Katherine is a 2nd year doctoral student studying the role of social support and coping in health care situations and interpersonal relationships.
Research Interests
Katherine’s research interests focus on the role of support and coping in chronic illness. Most recently, she is working on a project that explores the role of religion and spirituality in the coping process for individuals in the mid-stages of living with a chronic illness.
Teaching Experiences:
Katherine is in her second year of teaching Communication 101: Interpersonal Communication. At the University of Illinois she taught Speech Communication 100 (Introduction to Public Speaking) and Communication 321 (Persuasive Speaking). Katherine has also taught two reading enrichment courses for high school freshman through seniors for Upward Bound College Preparatory Institute (Champaign, IL) and Midtown Educational Foundation (Chicago, IL).
Relevant Professional Service Activities/Non-academic Career Background:
For two years Katherine worked as a McKing contractor for the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). She was a member of the Communication Surveillance and Evaluation Team in the Emergency Risk Communication Branch (ERCB). Katherine’s role included the creation and coordination of communication surveillance reports for several activations, most notably the H1N1 pandemic response. She also participated in several evaluation and research projects for CDC.
Conference Presentations:
Becker, K.A. (2013, April). Medical school blogs and the expressive writing paradigm. Presentation to be delivered at Central States Communication Association, Kansas City, KS.
Becker, K.A. (2013, April). Medical student blogs and support solicitation strategies: An examination of Indiana school of medicine Tour the Life blogging website. Presentation to be delivered at Central States Communication Association, Kansas City, KS.
Peterson, J. L., Bradford, L., & Becker, K. A. (2012, November). “I’m too embarrassed”: College students’ reasons for delaying and avoiding health care. Presentation delivered at National Communication Association, Orlando, FL.
Bradford, L., Peterson, J. L., Becker, K. A. (2012, October). The role of embarrassment on college student health care seeking decisions. Presentation delivered at American Academy on Communication in Healthcare, Providence, RI.
Stoll, A., & Becker, K. A. (7/2012). How and why we lie: An exploration of deception in dating relationships. Presentation to be delivered at the International Association for Relationship Research, Chicago, IL.
Vidoloff, K. G., Becker, K. A., & Freberg, K. (4/2012). Analysis of media framing across traditional and social media during the Japan radiation emergency: Implications for emergency risk communication practitioners. Presentation delivered at 12th biennial Kentucky Conference on Health Communication, Lexington, KY.