Rhonda Zaharna, a tenured professor in the School of Communication, will become the interim associate dean of faculty affairs at SOC starting in July.
Zaharna will be responsible for overseeing faculty promotions, tenure and other needs. Getting familiar with different faculty members’ research and their academic backgrounds is a significant part of the role — one that Zaharna is particularly excited for.
“Learning about people’s research, and their vision and their goals, and what they want to do in their careers … I love that,” Zaharna said in an interview with The Eagle.
Zaharna’s love for travel, people and giving back to her community started at an early age. Hearing adventure-filled travel stories from her childhood neighbor — Mr. Cook, the pilot — sparked her early curiosity about the world around her, Zaharna said. Mrs. Klein, her old piano teacher, instilled in her the importance of being gracious and kind. Her grandfather, who worked in education, certainly had an impact on her career choice to become an educator herself.
But it wasn’t until her undergraduate years studying foreign service at Georgetown University that Zaharna found her fascination with intercultural communication, the topic she studies and teaches to this day.
“I just fell in love with communication and thought all the problems of the world were about communication,” Zaharna said.
She pursued her passion for communication in graduate school at Columbia University and later also got her doctor of education from Columbia.
Intercultural communication and humanity-centered public diplomacy plays a large part in Zaharna’s research, which is further described in her latest book, “Boundary Spanners of Humanity.” She has traveled around the world conducting and presenting her research, and will soon be a keynote speaker at the NACDI Summer School Academy conference in Mexico City on May 30.
“I just want to do well, and do well by people,” Zaharna said.
As a published scholar and professor of Ph.D. students, Zaharna offers her expertise to many and has helped multiple AU students attain Fulbright grants, as well as other awards. A 1996 Fulbright Senior Scholar herself, Zaharna is passionate about finding students and faculty opportunities to pursue their academic interests.
“Pay it forward,” Zaharna said. “When people help you out, always be ready to help others … So many people helped me out throughout my career.”
Her role as interim dean will include regular appointments with SOC faculty members, assessment of potential provost awards and general oversight of faculty actions. Zaharna will also assist full-time faculty members in potential promotions and career moves within the University.
“[It’s] finding out people’s gifts and their strengths,” Zaharna said. “We have senior faculty who have amazing expertise, and I’m so fortunate working with them.
Correction: A previous version of this article inaccurately referred to Zaharna as the interim dean of faculty affairs. It has been updated to accurately reflect her title as interim associate dean of faculty affairs at the School of Communication.
This article was edited by Cara Halford, Tyler Davis and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Olivia Citarella, Sabine Kanter-Huchting and Hannah Langenfeld.
