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Communication’s O’Sullivan Named Director of CTLT
Dr. Patrick O'Sullivan
Dr. Patrick B. O'Sullivan
Patrick B. O’Sullivan, Associate Professor of Communication, has been named the Director of the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology (CTLT), effective May 16. Formerly known as CAT: the Center for the Advancement of Teaching, CTLT is a multipurpose, interdisciplinary unit dedicated to the advancement of teaching and student learning. It seeks to provide resources to help enhance the teaching of individual members of the instructional community; to nurture and promote a vital teaching community at Illinois State in which skilled teaching is recognized and valued as creative intellectual work; to coordinate teaching resources that exist in various colleges and departments; and to establish and maintain mutually supportive relationships with other institutions of higher education in Illinois and with the corporate sector. “I am very pleased that Dr. O'Sullivan has assumed this Directorship,” said Associate Provost Jan M. Shane. “He is an exemplary teacher who has been an active participant and leader in both CAT and FTSS activities for many years. His scholarly interest in communication technologies in an educational environment, coupled with his enthusiasm and vision for teaching and learning on this campus, will make him a very successful leader for the new Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology.”

 

 

O’Sullivan’s scholarship focuses on the social aspects of mediated communication—or communication in any form of interaction that is not face-to-face, including older as well as newer communication technologies. He is interested in developing theories of communication that transcend specific media channels and level of analysis. His work bridging the fields has been published in such places as the Journal of Language and Social Psychology and the Journal of Applied Communication Research and has been delivered the International Conference on Language and Social Psychology and the International and National Communication Associations.

In addition to his research, O’Sullivan teaches many courses examining the intersections between technology and communication. His Communication Technology and Impacts (COM 218) course introduces students to historical and conceptual approaches to understanding communication technologies. Social Dynamics of Communication Technologies (COM 318) provides students with a foundation in communication technology studies. In New Technology Law and Policy (COM 363), students investigate socio-political issues involving technology and communication, such as privacy, copyright, cybercrime, and hate speech. O’Sullivan’s graduate students address the role of channel (medium) in the communication process in Foundations of Mediated Communication (COM 418) and examine the influence of technology in bridging research and pedagogical gaps within the discipline of Communication in New Technologies at the Intersection of Mass and Interpersonal Communication (COM 492).

O’Sullivan has served the University and his field in relation to technology. At ISU, he currently serves on the College Curriculum Committee, the LILT Advisory Committee, and the Executive Committee for Academic Technology. Professionally, O’Sullivan is active on both the Interpersonal Communication Division (secretary, 2000-2003) and the Communication and Technology Division (secretary, 1999-2001) of the International Communication Association, the Human Communication and Technology Interest Group of the National Communication Association, and the Association of Internet Researchers.

He earned his Ph.D. in 1996 from the University of California—Santa Barbara, his M.A. in Communication Management from the University of Southern California, and his B.A. in Journalism from San Diego State University. He came to ISU 1996.

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