Kari Lundgren

Kari Lundgren is a Professor in the Communication department at Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech), where she has served on faculty since 2014. She teaches writing and rhetoric courses including first-year composition, public speaking, technical writing, and professional writing to STEM students across the Klamath Falls campus.

Her educational background includes:

• Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric, Carnegie Mellon University, 2013
• Master of Arts in Rhetoric, Carnegie Mellon University, 2006
• Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Franciscan University of Steubenville, 2004

Dr. Lundgren's research centers on medical rhetoric and critical discourse analysis, with significant focus on medical charting as technical communication and ableism in public health policies since the pandemic. Her scholarly work bridges professional writing, advocacy rhetoric, and stylistic analysis, emphasizing how language shapes power dynamics in healthcare and technical communication contexts. She brings a unique perspective as the child and grandchild of engineers who transitioned from philosophy to rhetoric education.

Her teaching philosophy prioritizes clear writing, speaking, and critical thinking as essential skills for technical professionals, informed by her unconventional path from math preference to rhetoric specialization without formal undergraduate writing coursework.