in Professional & Technical Communication
College of Engineering,University of Saskatchewan
57 Campus Drive Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A9
Jennifer MacLennan and D.K. Seaman, 2004
The endowed Chair in Technical and Professional Communication in
The general mandate of the Chair is to work closely with the faculty and students of the
Like all faculty positions, the Chair carries an expectation of teaching and scholarly activity following the teacher-scholar model, and other responsibilities unique to the mandate of the position, including program and curricular development, administrative responsibilities,
and professional service.
Meet the D.K. Seaman Chair Holder
Dr. Jennifer MacLennan joined the
Photo
Credit: Wayne Eyre, 2002
- PhD
(Rhetoric/Communication), U
of
Washington,
- MA (English), McMaster U,
- BA (Honours English), St. Francis Xavier U, Antigonish NS
Research Interests
Dr. MacLennan's primary research interest is in the rhetoric of cultural identity formation, and she has written extensively about such varied subjects as Canadian identity, rhetorical theory, professional-organizational communication, interpersonal communication, public speaking, and teaching as rhetorical praxis. She is also a past president of the Canadian Society for the Study of Rhetoric.
Since her arrival, Dr. MacLennan has created more than forty new courses and workshops in communication, including a complete re-invention of the College's required undergraduate course, now called Effective Professional Communication, and a successful graduate level Principles of Professional Communication course for the Advanced Design and Manufacturing Institute's MEng program -- the most highly-rated of their course offerings to date.
Despite heavy administrative and program-development activities, Dr. MacLennan has maintained an active research program, publishing numerous articles and more than eight books. She has presented dozens of workshops and short courses for professionals, and developed a flourishing graduate programme in rhetoric.
Dr. MacLennan's accomplishments as D.K. Seaman Chair provided the impetus for the creation of the Ron & Jane Graham Centre for the Study of Communication, for which she created an extensive array of courses and programming now delivered by the Centre's instructional staff.
In addition to those already listed, her accomplishments include an innovative Engineering Communication Option, the first such offering in Canada, which is currently available to engineering students and will shortly be open to students in other professional colleges.
With program development for the Centre complete and a strong teaching team in place, the activities of the Seaman Chair will change in emphasis, focusing on the twin goals of scholarship and outreach to the professional community through workshops, short courses, and graduate offerings in support of a professional degree.