Jill Fennell

Dr. Jill Fennell holds the Frank K. Webb Academic Professional Chair in Communication Skills at the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology. She leads initiatives to advance technical, professional, and scientific communication skills for students, faculty, and staff. Her expertise includes affect theory, care ethics, and instructional design, focusing on discipline-specific communication strategies.

She earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Tennessee (2019), an M.A. from Texas Tech University (2014), and a B.A. from Southern Arkansas University (2012). Her research bridges information design and pedagogy, emphasizing student agency in communication.

Key collaborations include partnerships with engineering schools across Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering, such as the Undergraduate Professional Communications Program (ECE) and the Charles E. Gearing Program (Civil & Environmental Engineering). She co-teaches courses like ME 2110 (Creative Decisions and Design) and runs workshops on scientific writing and fellowship applications.

Her recent publications explore pedagogical applications of affect theory and the redesign of assignment sheets to prioritize student agency over consumerist frameworks.