Hello! My name is Diane Jackson. 

Professional & Educational Background

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Tampa. I graduated with my Ph.D. in August 2025 from the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University. I graduated with my Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication with minors in Business and Psychology in 2017 from Hanover College. I also went to Purdue University for my Master of Science degree in Communication with a minor in Research Methods from Purdue University in 2019. After that, I worked in Operations at an IT solutions company called Scale Computing, headquartered in downtown Indianapolis, IN from 2019 to 2021 before returning to Purdue University to pursue my Ph.D. 

Research Interests & Personal Background 

My research interests sit at the intersection of political communication, media psychology, and interpersonal communication. I really enjoy studying how people process and decide to communicate with others, particularly in our politically polarized world. As a person who came of age alongside the emergence of social media and artificial intelligence and leading up to the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, COVID-19 pandemic, and social justice reckoning, many of my research interests coincide with the major social and political events that I have experienced in the U.S. 

My goal as a researcher, teacher, and person is to contribute to a more socially just and inclusive world. Therefore, I try to prioritize inclusivity in my research by employing diverse research methods to address the questions that I seek to answer and by collaborating with and recruiting individuals whose backgrounds and expertise challenge and complement my own. In my classroom, I aim to cultivate a classroom environment that is inclusive and welcoming to students with less traditional approaches to learning and from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.