Shelia Cotten

Shelia Cotten serves as Associate Vice President for Research Development at Clemson University and holds a provost’s distinguished professorship with joint appointments in the Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice Department and Communication Department. She joined Clemson in August 2020 after previously serving as Michigan State University Foundation professor and associate chair for research in the Department of Media and Information.

Her educational background includes a bachelor's degree in sociology from Wake Forest University, a PhD in sociology from North Carolina State University, and a post-doctoral fellowship at Boston University School of Public Health and Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital.

Dr. Cotten's research critically examines technology adoption among aging populations through interdisciplinary lenses of sociology, gerontology, and communication. Her work emphasizes digital equity, public sociology applications, and health technology impacts on vulnerable communities, establishing her as a leading voice in gerontechnology scholarship.

Key honors include:

• Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America
• Public Sociology Award from CITASA (2013)

As past chair of the Communication and Information Technologies Section (CITASA) of the American Sociological Association, she demonstrates significant professional leadership. Her current administrative role suggests extensive involvement in institutional research strategy and funding development, though specific grant details and student mentorship records are unreported in available sources.