Educational background: Ph.D. in Mathematics, 1986, Columbia University. Research interest: number theory and medical imaging.

My work is in the study of rhetorical, psychological and communicative processes in personal relationships. After a PhD in Social Psychology, I moved to Communication Studies and finally Rhetoric. After founding the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, I edited it for 15 years and was also President of the International Network on Personal Relationships and cofounder of the Interpersonal Conferences on Personal Relationships, both of them international and interdisciplinary in emphasis.

Richard Velasco is a clinical assistant professor of mathematics and science education. He teaches secondary math methods courses and supervises secondary math and science pre-service teachers. Prior to working at the University of Iowa, Richard was a secondary math teacher for twelve years, a national board certified teacher in early adolescent mathematics, and a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. His current line of research includes STEM teacher advocacy, conceptualizations of STEM education, and informal STEM learning spaces.

I have a J.D. and taught Business, Law and Ethics in the Tippie College of Business for 30 years. I taught undergraduates (Iowa, London and Italy) and MBAs and taught in our Executive MBA programs in Iowa, Italy (CIMBA) and Hong Kong. I directed the Italy (CIMBA) program as well. My primary areas of research were law and ethics generally and whistleblowing and sexual harassment specifically. Served as undergraduate Dean in the Tippie College.

Morten Schlütter (PhD, Yale University) is Associate Professor and Departmental Executive Officer (Chair) of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Iowa, and the former Director of the University of Iowa Center for Asian and Pacific Studies. He is the author of How Zen Became Zen: The Dispute over Enlightenment and the Formation of Chan Buddhism in Song-Dynasty China (University of Hawai’i Press, 2008), which focuses on crucial developments within Chan [Jpn.: Zen] Buddhism that came to dominate Chinese monastic Buddhism by the twelfth century. He is the co-editor of Readings of the Platform Sūtra (Columbia University Press, 2012), and the author of many articles on Chinese Buddhism and Chan. He is currently working on a book manuscript that traces the evolution of Chinese Chan through different versions of the Platform Sūtra.

Meenakshi Gigi Durham is Professor and Collegiate Scholar in the University of Iowa’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Florida. Her research addresses gender and sexuality in the media, emphasizing embodiment, intersectional identities, transnational feminisms, and sexual violence. Her articles have appeared in leading communication journals, and she serves on many editorial boards. Her books include MeToo: The Impact of Rape Culture in the Media, Technosex, The Lolita Effect, and Media and Cultural Studies: KeyWorks.  Among her numerous honors are the May Brodbeck Award Distinguished Achievement Award for Faculty and the President and Provost Award for Teaching Excellence from the University of Iowa, as well as the Teresa Award for the Advancement of Feminist Scholarship from the International Communication Association.