Two Faculty Members Named Distinguished Professors

NC State has named two Humanities and Social Sciences faculty members as Distinguished Professors, a title bestowed on scholars who are considered to be at the top of their fields.

Communication professor Joann Keyton and psychology professor Douglas J. Gillan both received the honor. The university’s Distinguished Professors are known and respected nationally and internationally by scholars in their fields.

Joann Keyton

Keyton’s research focuses on the communication dynamics and relational aspects of teams and groups, as well as the role of training and influence of culture in organizational interventions. She has particular expertise in how messages are manipulated in sexual harassment. She has published more than 100 articles in prestigious academic journals, authored or co-authored six books, and acquired externally funded grants totaling over $1.5 million.

“Keyton is one of the most important figures in the field of communication,” says Jessica Jameson, head of the Department of Communication. “Her research has had a lasting impact on the field and beyond.”

Keyton founded Communication Currents, an online publication hosted by the National Communication Association, which translates scholarly research for nonacademic audiences and the media. She also contributes to NC State’s Park Scholars program, training evaluators who select scholarship recipients.

Keyton’s work articulates and promotes the value of integrating communication within other disciplinary perspectives. She is the editor of Small Group Research, an interdisciplinary journal. Her research is often conducted in teams and is published widely across social science disciplines, including psychology, management, human factors and ergonomic sciences.

Currently, Keyton is working on research funded by the Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences and the Laboratory for Analytic Sciences.  

Douglas J. Gillan

Gillan’s research focuses broadly on the interaction between humans and technology. He has investigated how human factors and ergonomics techniques are used to address topics such as assistive technology, multitasking, human-robot interaction and applied perception/information visualization.

Gillan, who served as head of the Department of Psychology from 2006 to 2016, has published more than 70 peer reviewed journal articles. He has also received more than $6 million in external funding from a variety of organizations and agencies, including the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Army Research Laboratory and the Office of Naval Research.

“Doug Gillan has made numerous and noteworthy contributions to the teaching and professional development of future human factors scientists and practitioners,” says Florian Jentsch, chair and professor of psychology at the University of Central Florida.

Currently, Gillan serves as chair of the reappointment, promotion and tenure committee in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. He’s also a Fellow of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

This post was originally published in College of Humanities and Social Sciences.