Dr. Adams began her study of Communication as an undergraduate at the University of
Wyoming. She received her doctorate, mentored by B. Aubrey Fisher, in interpersonal
and small group communication from the University of Utah. She was an original member of the CSU Smittcamp Honors college faculty, designing
an honors course in invitational rhetoric. Dr. Adams is past chair of the Department of Communication and has gone on to chair
4 other departments and received the 2015 Paul Sheehan Outstanding Service Award from
Mass Media, Communications and Journalism depatment. She has been an active member
of Western States Communication Association since1983 and serves as one of their Past
Presidents receiving their Distinguished Service Award in 2019. She has published
in Western Journal of Communication, Journal of Applied Communication Research, and exchanges:The On-Line Journal on Teaching and Learning in the CSU. She co-authors Aubrey Fisher's (deceased) Interpersonal Communication: A Pragmatic Approach textbook as well as two small group textbooks: Communicating in Groups: Applications and Skills and Effective Group Discussion: Theory and Practice with Gloria Galanes. She recently co-authored, with Fraleigh and Tuman, Let’s Communicate: An Illustrated Guide to Human Communication. She retired Professor and Chair Emerita of Communication in 2018.
- Interpersonal Communication
- Small Group Communication
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Discourse Analysis
- Let’s Communicate: An Illustrated Guide to Human Communication (2017) with Douglas Fraleigh and Joseph Tuman. Boston, MA: Bedford St. Martins.
- Communicating in Groups: Applications and Skills (3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th ed.s) (2021) with Gloria Galanes. New York: McGraw Hill.
- Effective Group Discussion: Theory and Practice (8th, 9th, 10th, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15th ed.s) (2017) with Gloria Galanes. New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Interpersonal Communication: Pragmatics of Human Relationships (2nd ed.) (1994) with B. A. Fisher (deceased). New York: McGraw-Hill.
- “Pragmatics and Context: A Matter of Pattern.” (1997). In J. Owen (Ed.). Context and Communication Behavior. Reno, NV: Context Press.
- “Of All Things, Communication is the Most Wonderful.” (2003). Western Journal of Communication, 4, 449-452.
- "Critical Incident Questionnaire: A Critical Reflective Teaching Tool."(2001, Oct.
17) exchanges: The On-Line Journal on Teaching and Learning in the CSU.
- "Social Confrontation in Relationships of Varying Degrees of Intimacy." Argument and Social Practice: Proceedings of the Fourth Summer Conference on Argumentation, Annadale, VA: Speech Communication Association, 1985, 634-647.
- "Heheh in Conversation: Some Pragmatic Considerations of Laughter" (with N. O’Donnell-
Trujillo). (1983). Western Journal of Speech Communication, 47, 175-191.
- "Appraisal Openings: Use of the Question/Answer Adjacency Pair in a Performance Appraisal
Interview." (1981). Journal of Applied Communication Research, 9, 72-84.