Donyale Padgett

Dr. Donyale Padgett serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at Wayne State University, where she has been a faculty member since 2002 and on the tenure-track since 2006. With over 15 years of professional communications experience in client service and strategic planning, she integrates practical industry insights into her teaching through service learning projects with local non-profits. She actively contributes to university-wide initiatives on diversity, inclusion, and student retention efforts.

Professor Padgett earned her academic credentials from Wayne State University and Howard University:

• Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with Public Relations concentration, Wayne State University
• Master of Arts in Organizational Communication and Public Relations, Wayne State University
• Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Intercultural Communication, Howard University

Her research centers on critical rhetoric examining how marginalized groups negotiate power and identity within social structures. Primary interests include crisis rhetoric and organizational legitimacy, crisis-cultural dynamics, and diversity in workplace communication. Secondary focuses encompass service learning pedagogy, student retention strategies in higher education, and hip-hop's influence on identity formation. This critical scholarship investigates rhetoric's generative power in public discourse, particularly regarding race, culture, and institutional oppression.

Her publication record demonstrates consistent interdisciplinary scholarship bridging crisis communication with cultural studies, race theory, and social justice. Key contributions include the development of "restorative rhetoric" for non-traditional crises and analyses of race-based crisis response variations. Recent work spans political scandals, cross-cultural crisis management, hip-hop femininity, and critical journalism approaches, reflecting her commitment to examining communication through lenses of power and marginalization.

Professor Padgett advises undergraduate and graduate students including thesis and dissertation supervision. She engages students through service learning projects connecting classroom theory with community needs. Her current research involves an interdisciplinary team studying retention challenges among marginalized student populations, aiming to develop actionable strategies for improving graduation rates through narrative analysis of student experiences.