The communication department’s signature annual event, COM Week, will occur on Feb. 22-26 this year, and brings with it speakers who are leaders in their fields. This year’s theme is Foundations, and Dr. Sandra Petronio will be the first to present this year.

Dr. Sandra Petronio presents on communication privacy management

Petronio will present at 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 22 in Plaster Student Union Ballroom East.

Petronio is currently a communication professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and in the IU School of Medicine. Recently, she has been appointed director of the newly formed Communication Privacy Management Center.

Petronio has spent the last 35 years developing the evidenced-based Communication Privacy Management (CPM) theory. Her 2002 book on CPM theory, “Boundaries of Privacy: Dialectics of Disclosure,” won the Gerald R. Miller Award from the National Communication Association and the book award from the International Association of Relationship Research.

Her areas of expertise include interpersonal, health and family communication. She also studies privacy, disclosure and confidentiality.

Other speakers to discuss topics in relationships, diversity and social justice

Visit the website for a full list of speakers in this year’s COM Week.