Since his graduation from Purdue in 1981, Jon Nussbaum has worked on 19 books, directed 37 dissertations, authored or edited 120 journal articles and book chapters, and presented over 150 scientific papers at scholarly conferences.
Among his many achievements are:
- President of the International Communication Association
- Editor of the Journal of Communication
- Fellow of the American Psychological Association
- Distinguished scholar within the National Communication Association
- Fulbright Research Scholar to the United Kingdom
Among these achievements, Nussbaum was recently invited to join the Brian Lamb School of Communication Advisory Board.
What is your favorite Purdue memory?
After a massive final exam in [Elliott] Music Hall, Mike Wartman and I re-enacted the Rocky movie with a 100-yard dash. So many great, lifelong friends from all over the country. Most of my classmates were not Midwesterners and we survived!!!!
What is your top piece of advice for Lamb School students?
There are 24 hours in each day, make good use of each one. Give yourself a break and have fun on Friday night and Saturday!
What impact do you hope to make as a member of the advisory board?
I hope to help maintain the excellent record and reputation of the school at both the undergraduate and graduate level with my experience in the academy.
Could you talk a little about your current role and how you got there?
I have just retired as a Liberal Arts Professor Emeritus at Penn State University. After graduating from Purdue, I was hired as an Assistant Professor at the University of Montana, then onto the University of Oklahoma, and spent the final twenty years of my academic career at Penn State University. Throughout my career I spent time (typically two semesters) as a visiting Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Cardiff University in Wales and at various colleges in Australia. I would say I am most proud of my 37 Doctoral advisees and well over 200 doctoral committees that I served on in various social science disciplines, my time as a Fulbright Research Scholar, my time as President of ICA and the International Association of Language and Social Psychology, and the various editorial “jobs” I have held. So, I stayed busy and tried to engage scholarship throughout the world.
Do you have any advice for students hoping to go into research or into the academic field?
The best advice I can give is to go out of your comfort zone to meet and work (help with research as an undergraduate research assistant) with at least one professor in the department. Be a good worker and listener. If possible, attend a scholarly conference or two. Introduce yourself to the many scholars who you are reading and learning about. Have many discussions with yourself about scholarly questions you hope to answer. Nurture a passion for knowledge, understanding, and writing.
Do you have a mantra or saying you live by?
“Do not embarrass yourself, Jon.” On a more positive note, and stolen from the Boy Scouts, “Be Prepared!”
Is there anything else that you’d like to share?
I would like to point out that my “class” of Purdue doctoral students includes three ICA Fellows who are also NCA Distinguished Scholars and who served as ICA President. Nice company!!!
Great scholarship occurs everywhere in the world. So, travel, make many friends, serve the discipline as well as the community and have fun while teaching.