The 2025 Positive Communication Network Conference

PART 1: WELCOME - POSITIVE COMMUNICATION @ WORK

11 am (CT): Welcome to the 2025 Positive Communication Network Conference

• Julien C. Mirivel, founder, Professor of Communication at UA Little Rock

11:10 am : Opening Keynote: Putting Positive Communication to Work (and How to Build Resilience) by Patrice Buzzanell, Distinguished Professor of Communication, University of South Florida

Patrice M. Buzzanell (Distinguished University Professor, University of South Florida) focuses on the discourse, materialities, and practices regarding resilience, career, work-life policy, gender, and engineering design in micro-macro contexts. She has received career and service achievement awards as well as fellow and distinguished scholar honors from the International Communication Association (ICA) and the National Communication Association (NCA), among others. She also has received mentoring awards from ICA, NCA, Purdue, and USF. Her most recent publications are handbooks on communication ethics and employee communication, both in 2025.

11: 40 am: Chat with the Speaker, led by Tom Socha, co-founder & University Professor, Old Dominion University

PART 2: POSITIVE COMMUNICATION SCHOLARSHIP @ WORK

Facilitated by Margaret Pitts, Associate Professor, University of Arizona

This session focuses on positive communication scholarship in the workplace featuring new research published in a recent special issue on positive communication in the International Journal of Business Communication.

12:00 pm – 12: 10 pm A World of Possibilities: Positive Communication Scholarship in Business Communication by Ryan P. Fuller & Julien Mirivel

12:10 pm – 1:00 pm Research-Based Presentations

• Positive Communication Practices for Enhancing Collaboration by Amy E. Mickel
• Professional Caregivers’ Communicative Resilience and Flourishing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: When Disruption Lasts by Ryan S. Bisel, Katherine Ann Rush, & Arden C. Roeder
• Listening to LGBTQIA Individuals’ Pre-Employment Needs: A Mixed-Methods Positive Communication Study by Thomas J. Socha and students
• The Structuration of Positive Communication Experiences: The Case of the Great Resignation by Elizabeth A. Williams, Jennifer S. Linvill, Emeline Ojeda-Hecht, Meghan R. Cosgrove, Autumn Buzzetta, & Abby Konkel

1:00 pm – 1:15 pm Chat with the Speaker, led by Phillip Glenn , co-founder & Professor, Emerson College

1:15 pm – 1:20 pm Short Break

PART 3: POSITIVE COMMUNICATION PEDAGOGY @ WORK

1:20 pm – 1:50 pm Showcase Presentation: Making Meaningful Connections with Students Online

Rebecca Anne Glazier, Professor of Political Science, UA Little Rock

Rebecca A. Glazier is a political science professor in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Dr. Glazier has published more than a dozen academic articles on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning--on everything from simulations to satire to smartphone apps. She is particularly passionate about improving the quality of online education and is the author of “Connecting in the Online Classroom: Building Rapport between Teachers and Students” (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2021). Recognized as a national leader in higher education research, Dr. Glazier was named One of EdTech Magazine’s “30 Higher Ed IT Influencers to Follow in 2023.” Her work has been featured on the Teaching in Higher Ed Podcast, in the Chronicle of Higher Education, and in Teaching in Higher Ed. Dr. Glazier has been honored by frequent teaching awards--both from faculty and from students. More information about her teaching, research, and speaking is available on her website: http://www.rebeccaglazier.net/. She can be reached via email at raglazier@ualr.edu.

1:50 pm – 2:10 pm Practical Applications & Exercises

2:10 pm – 2:15 pm Short Break

PART 4: POSITIVE COMMUNICATION IN PRACTICE @ WORK

2:15 pm – 2:50 pm The Coach's Toolkit: Practical Communication Skills for Flourishing

Shahnaz Broucak, Chief Coach & Culture Strategist, OptimizeU

Shahnaz brings over 30 years of leadership experience to her work as an Executive Coach, including founding three businesses, teaching at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business and serving as a Chief Leadership Coach for a 3000+ employee company. She taught Coaching and Mentoring in Organizations for MBA students at Ross and received a University of Michigan Provost Teaching Innovation Prize (2018). She gained invaluable experience as a professor and executive coach for Executive Education at University of Michigan Ross Executive Education, the #1 executive education program in North America.

Q&A with Amy Young, University of Michigan

PART 5: CLOSING & STAYING CONNECTED BEYOND THE CONFERENCE

2:50 pm. World Happiness Day!

2:55 pm – 3:00 pm Closing

Ryan Fuller, Sacramento State University