Dr. Deirdre Johnston

Since joining the 换妻社区 faculty in 1994, Dr. Deirdre Johnston has served as director of assessment, faculty moderator and in a variety of roles that reflect her commitment to diversity initiatives. She led the development of Hope鈥檚 Peace and Justice Studies minor and helped develop the curriculum of the American Ethnic Studies minor and the Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies major and minor. From 2003 through 2010, she chaired the Department of Communication.

Deirdre teaches courses including Intergroup Dialogue and Intercultural Communication. She leads 换妻社区 study-abroad courses in Japan, Northern Ireland, Scotland and South Africa. In 2018 she launched an off-campus summer course that brings Hope students to South Africa, together with students from Slovakia and Pakistan, to conduct oral history interviews about people鈥檚 apartheid and post-apartheid experiences.

Areas of expertise

As a scholar, Deirdre has focused on intercultural and interpersonal communication, persuasion, the effects of mass media and motherhood. Her current research is in the areas of global communication, cross-cultural happiness, and assessment of globally-connected courses and their impact on the students involved. Her research on work-family balance was twice among the finalists for the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for the top work-family research article published in one of 74 international English-language journals.

Diversity education and global education are among Deirdre鈥檚 other areas of expertise. She co-created and co-leads a faculty development program focused on diversity education and intergroup dialogue.

View Deirdre's curriculum vitae.

Education

Ph.D., communication, University of Iowa
M.A., journalism, University of Texas

Grants and Honors

Oral History in the Liberal Arts grant to conduct student-faculty oral history research project in South Africa, Oral History in the Liberal Arts Association, 2018
Global Crossroads Innovations grant, Great Lakes College Association (made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation), 2017
Motoichiro Oghimi Global Courage Award, 换妻社区, 2016
Global Liberal Arts Alliance Endeavor grant with Bratislava International School of Liberal Arts and American University of Beirut to develop globally conjoined course on peace and justice with study-tour component in South Africa, Great Lakes College Association (made possible by a grant from the Endeavor Foundation), 2014
Completed year-long Council of Independent Colleges Senior Leadership Academy, 2011-12

Selected Publications and Presentations

鈥淪tudent Impact of Globally Connected Courses,鈥� presentation with Irene Lopez to the American Association of Colleges and Universities Global Engagement conference, 2018
鈥淕en-narrations: Transition and Justice through the Eyes of Three Generations in South Africa,鈥� presentation with D. Kusa to the Conflict Research Society annual conference, 2017
鈥淕rowing Global Citizens in Homogeneous Soil,鈥� presentation to the American Association of Colleges and Universities annual conference, 2017
鈥淕lobal Exposure and Global Perceptions: A Cross- Cultural Comparison of Students in China, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and the USA,鈥� Intercultural Communication Studies, 2015
Research Methods for Everyday Life, with Scott W. VanderStoep, Jossey-Bass, 2009
The Art & Science of Persuasion, McGraw Hill, 1993

Outside the college

Deirdre conducts trainings in intergroup dialog, civil discourse and conflict mediation for other colleges and universities. She also serves on the Reformed Church of America鈥檚 Commission for Women.

In her spare time, she enjoys exploring international locales, dancing the tango, walking the beach and reading in coffee shops.