Joan E. Aitken is Professor, Arts and Communication, Park University. She has a B.A. in Communication Theory from Michigan State University, an M.A. in Special Education from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and an M.A. and Ed.D. in Communication and Administration from the University of Arkansas. She joined the Park faculty in 2005, after teaching at the University of Missouri, University of Louisiana, and University of Arkansas.Aitken’s emphasis in scholarship has been computer-mediated communication and communication education. She has authored eight books, which include the following:
• Interpersonal Concepts and Competences, by Berko, Aitken, and Wolvin. (2010). Rowman & Littlefield Press.
• Cases on Online Discussion and Interaction, by Shedletsky and Aitken. (2010). IGI Global Press.
• Human Communication on the Internet, by Shedletsky and Aitken. (2004). Boston: Allyn & Bacon/Longman.
Aitken has authored five instructor’s manuals (three in the second edition or later), provided Web development for four publishers, and published 50 articles and reports. Aitken was editor of the National Communication Association’s The Communication Teacher and served on the editorial board of NCA’s Communication Education. She has obtained $3.5 million in competitive grant funding, including $1.5 million as the primary grant writer and others as a collaborative team member. Aitken has worked internationally in Jamaica and the People’s Republic of China.