Faculty

Dr. Brenda Buckley-Hughes serves as Assistant Vice Presidents] of Academic Affairs and teaches with enthusiasm and energy.  She has a passion for her students’ speaking success.  Dr. Buckley-Hughes is the author of Introductory Speech Communication:  Overcoming Obstacles, Reaching Goals

Dr. Kristy Piebenga has been a passionate educator for over 15 years. She spent many years teaching in second, third, and fourth-grade classrooms before transitioning to the university level. She now shares her passion for literacy education with both undergraduate and graduate students

Dr. Brian Tucker has taught over twenty years in elementary schools and at the undergraduate level. He is the co-author of Transforming Literacy Teaching in the Era of Higher Standards. The Illinois Reading Council honored Dr. Tucker as the “Jerry Johns Teaching Educator of the Year” in 2017. He also presents at conferences to help educators prepare students to meet the challenges of 21st-century learning. Dr. Tucker’s research interests include social semiotics, meaning making, and multimodality.