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Department of Journalism

Dr. Robert J. Griffin
Professor

Johnston Hall 521
414-288-6787 Phone
414-288-3099 Fax
robert.griffin@mu.edu

Courses Taught

COMM 200: Theories of Communication
COMM 201: Research Methods in Communication
COMM 203: Quantitative Research Methods in Communication
JOUR 173: Science, Health, and Environmental Communication
COMM 164: Survey Research Methods

Education

PhD: Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 1980
Graduate: M.A., Journalism, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 1977.
Undergradute: B.A., Journalism, Marquette University. 1968.

Awards

Received Marquette University's highest career-long teaching honor, the Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence, based on student and faculty nominations. May 1997.

2006 top faculty paper award (refereed) from AEJMC Science Communication Interest Group, "After the Flood: Anger, Attribution, and the Seeking of Information," Robert J. Griffin, Zheng Yang, Ellen ter Huurne, Francesca Borner, Sherry Ortiz, and Sharon Dunwoody.

Why Marquette?

Great students, great colleagues, great curriculum that integrates theory and ethics with professional and scholarly preparation.

Research Interests

Environmental, energy, health, science, risk communication

Professional Affiliations

American Association for Public Opinion Research.
American Association of University Professors.
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC).
International Communication Association.
Society for Risk Analysis.
Society of Environmental Journalists.
American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Professional Experience

Appointed by the National Academy of Sciences in 2002 to the National Research Council's standing Committee on Emerging Issues and Data on Environmental Contaminants, serving in his capacity as a risk communication researcher.

Research Grant Review Panelist for National Science Foundation’s Decision, Risk, and Management Sciences program. 2004-2006.

Consultant for evaluation of Wisconsin Focus on Energy pilot communication program 1999-2002.

Chair, Communications and Public Information Subcommittee, Milwaukee County Local Emergency Planning Committee. 1988-1998.

Recent Publications

"Seeking and Processing Information About Impersonal Risk." LeeAnn Kahlor, Sharon Dunwoody, Robert J. Griffin, and Kurt Neuwirth. Science Communication 28(2): 163-194. 2006.

Communicating Toxicogenomics Information to Nonexperts: A Workshop Summary. Washington DC: National Academies Press. 2005. (Workshop organizer and NRC Emerging Issues committee member.)

“Information Sufficiency and Risk Communication.” Robert J. Griffin, Kurt Neuwirth, Sharon Dunwoody, and James Giese. Media Psychology (6): 23-61. 2004.

“Predicting Knowledge Complexity in the Wake of an Environmental Risk.” LeeAnn Kahlor, Sharon Dunwoody, and Robert J. Griffin. Science Communication 26(1): 5-30. 2004.

“Studying Heuristic-Systematic Processing of Risk Communication.” LeeAnn Kahlor, Sharon Dunwoody, Robert J. Griffin, Kurt Neuwirth, and James Giese. Risk Analysis (special issue on risk communication) 23(2): 355-368. 2003.

"Linking the Heuristic-Systematic Model and Depth of Processing." Robert J. Griffin, Kurt Neuwirth, James Giese, and Sharon Dunwoody. Communication Research. 29(6): 705-732. 2002.

“Attributions in Explanations of Risk Estimates.” LeeAnn Kahlor, Sharon Dunwoody, and Robert J. Griffin. Public Understanding of Science. 11: 243-257. 2002.

"Judgmental Heuristics and News Reporting." Sharon Dunwoody and Robert J. Griffin. Chapter 7 (pps. 177-198) in M.V. Razeev Gowda and Jeffrey C. Fox, eds., Judgments, Decisions, and Public Policy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 2002.

"Balancing Flood Control and Ecological Preservation/Restoration of Urban Watersheds." Vladimir Novotny, David Clark, Robert J. Griffin, and Alena Bartosova. Pps. 39-56 in J.Marsalek, F. Sieker, W.E. White, and E. Zeman (eds.), Advances in Urban Stormwater and Agricultural Runoff Source Controls. The Netherlands: Kluver Academic Publishers. 2001.

"Public Perceptions of the Midwest's Pavements: Explaining the Relationship Between Pavement Quality and Driver Satisfaction." James K. Giese, Robert J. Griffin, and David A. Kuemmel. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 1769: 61-70. Washington DC: National Academies Press. 2001.