College of Arts and Sciences

On this week’s episode of Segue, SIUE’s weekly radio program exploring the lives and work of the people on campus and beyond, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Dean Kevin Leonard, PhD, interviews Deborah Sellnow-Richmond, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Applied Communication Studies.

This episode of Segue airs at 9 a.m. on Sunday, May 16. Listeners can tune into WSIE 88.7 FM The Sound or siue.edu/wsie.

Sellnow-Richmond joined the SIUE faculty in fall 2018. Previously, she earned a bachelor’s from the University of Minnesota, a master’s from the University of Arkansas’ Clinton School of Public Service, and a doctorate in communication from Wayne State University.

Currently, Sellnow-Richmond’s research focuses on the efficacy and unforeseen effects of public relations messages in health and organizational crisis contexts, as well as the emerging role of social media in creating and resolving organizational crises. Her research has appeared in several communication journals, including the Journal of Applied Communication Research, the Journal of Risk Research, Communication Studies, and the International Journal of Crisis and Risk Communication Research.

Recently, Sellnow-Richmond was awarded the Graduate School’s 2021-22 Vaughnie Lindsay New Investigator Award, which recognizes faculty members whose research has the promise of making significant contributions to their fields of study, their respective school or department and to SIUE in general. The award will support her project entitled, “Strategic Messaging to Address the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic among Health Disparities and Vulnerable Populations.”

“How did you become interested in communication studies?” inquires Leonard.

“Communication studies wasn’t on my radar until late in my master’s program,” explains Sellnow-Richmond. “I had some great experiences in my public service program where I was engaged in on-ground campaigns. As I got to the end of my degree, I realized I wasn’t done learning and understanding, and decided to study communications.”

“What has inspired and shaped the type of research you conduct?” asks Leonard.

“In high school, I was introduced to a feminist-oriented organization by a good friend,” shares Sellnow-Richmond. “She introduced me to that perspective and how it expands beyond women’s issues to more disadvantaged groups. After my undergrad, I wanted to continue my education while working for underrepresented groups and gender issues, and this resonates with much of the work I’ve done thus far.”

While at the Clinton School, Sellnow-Richmond worked with an organization in Panama to better mitigate sexually transmitted infections among registered sex workers. During this time, she held focus groups and revealed a disconnect between the organization’s perspective and women’s lived experiences.

“Problems arise when you take a western approach while tackling non-western problems,” notes Sellnow-Richmond. “This project changed the way I think about organizational relationships with underserved populations, even in a domestic context.”

“Is there an overarching set of questions that have guided your research over the course of your career?” asks Leonard.

“In my research, I explore organizations positioned to help underserved populations, including service-oriented nonprofits and those designed to respond to crisis situations,” says Sellnow-Richmond. “I look at how these organizations work with clients to understand client needs. What is the interpretation from the perspective of the clients we’re trying to serve?”

“Can you walk us through the process of your research?” asks Leonard.

“Typically, my research questions originate in thinking about how we talk to those considered the most vulnerable in a given situation,” explains Sellnow-Richmond. “Sometimes, we can look at the messaging out there and see gaping holes. If we can’t, I lean towards hosting interviews or focus groups to have conversations and be deliberate about empowering the voices of those having specific experiences.”

Sellnow-Richmond is utilizing the Vaughnie Lindsay New Investigator Award to conduct message testing to better understand how wide-scale messaging can better assist vulnerable populations while reaching as many people as possible. Her project aims to address health disparities within vulnerable populations and uncover issues of organizational trust following consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have a long-standing trend where there isn’t much trust in the healthcare system and government bodies by our most vulnerable populations, for good reason,” says Sellnow-Richmond. “With this award, I’d like to tackle communication about what matters during the late stages of the pandemic, including vaccine access and disparities, trust in the vaccine, and continuing mitigations.”

Tune in at 9 a.m. on Sunday, May 16, to WSIE 88.7 The Sound to hear the entire conversation.