From left, top row: Teaching Assistant Professor Alyson Farzad-Phillips, Teaching Assistant Professor Jennifer Koella, Assistant Professor of Practice Heather Haley. Second row from left: Assistant Professor Ryan Beaty, Assistant Professor Yingying Han, Assistant Professor of Practice David Norman. Third row from left: Assistant Professor Yingbo Ma, Lecturer Anna Franklin , Assistant Professor Sieun Ha
The College of Communication and Information welcomed eight new faculty members this fall, with each bringing their expertise to one of the four schools housed at CCI: the School of Communication Studies, the School of Information Sciences, the School of Journalism and Media, and the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations. Read on to learn a little more about the newest additions to CCI’s academic ranks!
School of Communication Studies
Assistant Professor Ryan Beaty
For organizational communication researcher Beaty, East Tennessee and UT seemed like the perfect place for him to continue fleshing out his scholarship in nonprofits, religious entities, and social entrepreneurialism. He noted that the Knoxville region boasts a high number of nonprofits serving the community, and he looks forward to connecting both himself and his students with organizations that benefit the public good.
“The University of Tennessee has such a rich history of regional and national impact. It is a place of high energy with a grand story and a commitment to service. As such, I am very excited to invest my efforts alongside others “Volunteer”-ing to make our world better,” he said.
Both the institution and the region checked off a list he had to further his teaching and research interests along with his personal and career goals. He hopes to put down roots in the area to make a home with his family, which currently consists of his spouse, Korista, and two small dogs, Wicket and Remus.
Beaty, who earned his doctoral degree from the University of Oklahoma, has published work in journals including Journal of Professions and Organization, Management Communication Quarterly, and Qualitative Research Reports in Communication among others.
Teaching Assistant Professor Alyson Farzad-Phillips
Farzad-Phillips is a trained rhetorician who considers herself an interdisciplinary scholar whose work explores the intersections of communication, higher education, and social change. This makes her a great fit for a unique role wherein she was hired to teach CCI’s interdisciplinary undergraduate courses, including:
- The newly redesigned CCI 150 Connecting to the World of Communication and Information.
- A series of professional development courses that all CCI undergraduate majors are required to take so they can hone their career competencies and be confident and prepared when they enter the workforce.
Farzad-Phillips said she wanted to join CCI because of the college’s focus on the student experience and success.
“I’ve always centered student relationships and agency in my teaching practices. It is rewarding to know that I’ve picked a college that also prioritizes student development, growth, and preparedness at all levels, and I’m excited to be part of that project,” she said.
Along with her academic experience, Farzad-Phillips has held administrative roles in student advising, mentoring, and leadership training over the course of her career, all of which she intends to leverage to benefit the students under her tutelage.
While she at one point lived in Nashville for three years, Farzad-Phillips is looking forward to exploring another part of the state and checking out the Great Smoky Mountains and other great nature experiences the area has to offer. She has two young children and hopes to get involved in the parenting communities and discover all the great opportunities in the area for young families.
Lecturer Anna Franklin
Franklin’s time with the School of Communication Studies goes back to the moment she, as a first-year student, signed up for a communication studies course that ultimately changed the trajectory of her life and career. From that class on, she was hooked and earned a major in communication studies and a master’s degree with a concentration in communication studies from CCI.
“Eight years and two degrees in communication studies later, I find myself at the helm of the same classrooms that changed my life. Time and time again, I have seen anxious students entering my CMST 210 and CMST 247 classrooms, and confident communicators leaving them,” she said. “Knowing I will be able to have such a positive impact on so many lives? I can think of no greater honor than being able to carry forward that legacy for countless students after me.”
She is excited to join the school as full-time faculty right at the time CCI is seeing growth in its student body and the opportunities offered to its students and faculty.
“As a creative individual, I could never thrive in a stagnant space. That’s why Rocky Top is such a good fit for me, with the constant influx of new opportunities, perspectives, and chances for growth. I cannot wait to see what progress the future brings, including the changes that I hope to be able to help pioneer,” Franklin said.
Franklin teaches two Volunteer Core courses—courses all undergraduate students are required to take as part of their curriculum—CMST 210 Public Speaking and CMST 247 Business and Professional Communication. As for her scholarly work, Franklin specializes in emergency communication and risk personalization, which looks at the relationship between risk perceptions/knowledge and emergency preparedness.
Teaching Assistant Professor Jennifer Koella
Koella (’01) is excited to be back at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she earned a doctoral degree in communication with a concentration in technical and science communication.
Her work centers on integrating generative AI into higher education to enhance student learning, accessibility, and professional preparedness. Some of the ways she has done this include:
- Equipping students with AI-related skills that businesses now want in new hires, such as prompt engineering and data analysis
- Using AI to translate materials into any language
- Generating an avatar to deliver videos on course content for audio/visual learners
- Showing neurodivergent students how to break down assignments into small, manageable, daily tasks
- Showing students with dyslexia how to change any text from any class into a special font that can help them read more easily.
“I am passionate about creating supportive, student-centered classrooms where learners gain both practical communication skills and the confidence to apply them in academic, professional, and global contexts,” she said.
School of Journalism and Media
Assistant Professor of Practice Heather Haley
Haley (’05) is well-known locally as a meteorologist and journalist at WVLT in Knoxville, a position she left after working there 17 years to come back to her alma mater and share her expertise both in the classrooms of CCI and at WUOT 91.9 FM, where she is a climate journalist.
“I’ve been ‘All Vol”’ since birth! After obtaining my Journalism degree from UT and spending nearly two decades in the industry, I knew it was time to come home. I hope to bring my experience and insight to enhance the wonderful education students have been receiving at this school!” she said.
After earning her degree in journalism at UT, Haley went on to work as a broadcast journalist at WYMT in Hazard, KY. During that time she obtained a second bachelor’s degree in meteorology from Mississippi State University to pursue her ultimate goal of becoming a broadcast meteorologist.
Haley said many journalists, even those who don’t plan on exclusively reporting on weather or climate, can benefit from being prepared to report on this area.
While she is no stranger to Knoxville or UT, Haley said the positive energy on campus is still just as exciting as ever, noting that, “It’s not just a fun place to be, it’s a wonderful work atmosphere.” When she’s not on campus, she is at home with her two kids, two dogs, and two dozen chickens, probably tackling some sort of do-it-yourself project around the house.
School of Information Sciences
Assistant Professor Yingying Han
Han’s research heavily uses a community-based participatory approach to examine the transformative power of library and information sciences in society. That approach is part of what led her to accept a position at UT, where she admires the “strong focus and commitment to community engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration in teaching and research” that she observed at the university and at CCI.
She envisions her scholarship at UT will center on working with different community groups to better understand their histories and preserve their lived experiences. This type of work helps to fill in gaps in archival history, allowing for different communities and groups to have a record of their own experiences that Han said can be deeply impactful. She uses preservation practices such as information organization systems to incorporate grassroots perspectives and insights into the archival record.
Han is bringing her expertise in critical archival studies, digital preservation and curation, and community engagement to the classroom and is teaching course in archives, digital preservation, and communication to help train future memory workers—i.e., librarians and archivists.
“I am excited to connect with students and colleagues across the colleges and schools to explore how information sciences and memory work can make a real difference in people’s lives. I am also eager to build trust and partnerships with local communities in Tennessee, particularly with Asian American communities,” she said.
Assistant Professor Yingbo Ma
Ma is part of UT’s cluster hiring initiative, which seeks to bring in scholars who can help fulfill the university’s land-grant mission of making an impact in local communities and focusing on addressing the state and nation’s greatest challenges. He said this was a perfect fit as his primary focus is on developing real-time, intelligent AI systems to support medical diagnosis, treatment, and education. UT’s investment in this field was a clear sign to Ma that his work would be valued, and he’s looking forward to being part of a team that uses advanced information technologies to advance health outcomes.
As part of his work at SIS, Ma expects to design courses in a wide range of topics such as applied AI in health informatics, as well as broader topics like machine learning, deep learning, AI, and natural language processing.
I am excited to work with and mentor the students here at the University of Tennessee, to share my knowledge, and to learn from their unique perspectives as we work together to tackle complex challenges,” Ma said. “Being a part of a vibrant academic community at the University of Tennessee is what truly makes me excited to be here.”
Ma has had work published in various peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, including the Environmental Epidemiology, Annals of Surgery, British Journal of Educational Technology, Journal of Educational Data Mining, International Conference on Learning Representation (ICLR), International Conference on Multimodal Interaction (ICMI), International Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference, and International Conference on AI in Education.
Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations
Assistant Professor Sieun Ha
Ha describes herself as a former-advertiser-turned-scholar as she spent six years as an account planner at the largest ad agency in South Korea, where she led consumer and market research projects in global markets. She now leverages her professional experience in the field to inspire her research and inform her teaching.
Ha’s research focuses on information processing and message effectiveness of new advertising tactics and technologies including influencers, social media, and artificial intelligence. She chose to come to CCI after visiting campus and experiencing the vibrant energy that UT exudes.
“I was genuinely excited about the prospect of getting to work with people who are passionate about their work and also collegial. I chose CCI for the work culture because I wanted to be a part of it,” she said.
Now that she’s settled into her new surroundings, Ha is ready to start meeting new people and discovering new places, including the local breweries. She’s already on the Knoxville Ale Trail, which is a passport that lets participants collect stamps from local breweries around town and win prizes. And, like many who move to the region, Ha is ready to explore the nature it boasts.
Assistant Professor of Practice David Norman
Norman brings a professional background in public relations with him as one of the Tombras School’s newest faculty members, which he said allows him to bring an experiential approach to the classroom. He spent 25 years in the public relations field as the owner and managing director of a New York-based public relations and crisis management firm and is a nationally recognized expert in crisis communication.
The seasoned professional said he was impressed by the comprehensive offerings and opportunities at the school and is looking forward to contributing his efforts and knowledge to the program
“An integral part of my instructional approach incorporates real-life case studies and examples from my PR career into my lectures and classroom experiences. This approach not only heightens student engagement but also exposes them to important insights into the practical application of PR principles,” he said, noting he is also looking forward to being an advisor and mentor to students.
Norman comes to Knoxville from the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, where he taught from 2021 to 2025 as an assistant lecturer. Prior to that, he taught at the State University of New York at Fredonia and at Hofstra University in New York. He moved to Knoxville with his wife Dana, with whom he shares four grown children and a new grandson. He does bravely admit that, as a born-and-raised native of Brooklyn, NY, he is a loyal and long-suffering New York Mets fan.
CCI Tenure and Promotions
In addition to welcoming new faculty this fall, CCI is celebrating several faculty members who were promoted and/or earned tenure:
School of Communication Studies
- Kristin Haun promoted to distinguished lecturer at the School of Communication Studies
- Macy Pearson promoted to senior lecturer at the School of Communication Studies
School of Information Sciences
- Brian Dobreski was promoted to associate professor with tenure at the School of Information Sciences
School of Journalism and Media
- Guy Harrison was promoted to associate professor with tenure at the School of Journalism and Media
- Michael Martinez promoted to professor of practice at the School of Journalism and Media
- Mustafa Oz promoted to associate professor with tenure at the School of Journalism and Media
Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations
- Moonhee Cho was promoted to professor at the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations
- Minjie Li was promoted to associate professor with tenure at the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations