ComArtSci professor, Shelia Cotten, has been promoted to MSU Foundation Professor for her accomplishments in ;M& I and research. The university awards this title to individuals who combine exemplary scholarly accomplishment with clear professional relevance to areas of scholarly need, disciplinary development, research or creative emphasis. Cotten will retain the title of Foundation Professor for the duration of her time at MSU.
“I am very honored to be awarded a MSU Foundation Professorship,” said Cotten. “This award recognizes the contributions of my research on technology use and impacts across the life course, as well as my efforts to enhance interdisciplinary research as Director of Trifecta and Director of the Sparrow/MSU Center for Innovation and Research. I hope that my research and efforts help to improve the human condition, particularly for individuals and groups who are most disadvantaged in society.”
Cotten studies technology use across the life course and the social, educational and health impacts of that use. She conducts large-scale community based intervention studies designed to use technology to enhance various aspects of quality of life.
“Through interdisciplinary research and innovative use of communication technology, Shelia has forged an exciting research program that addresses transgenerational challenges in health communication,” said ComArtSci Dean Prabu David. “Under Shelia’s leadership, both Trifecta and the Center for Innovation and Research have made significant strides in advancing health communication research at MSU.”
Cotten is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America. She was previously the Chair of the Communication and Information Technologies Section of the American Sociological Association (CITASA) and the 2013 recipient of the CITASA Public Sociology Award. In 2016 she received the William F. Ogburn Senior Career Achievement Award from the Communication, Information Technologies, and Media Sociology (CITAMS) section of the American Sociological Association. Cotten enjoys teaching courses on the social impacts of technology, survey research and research methods. She joins the ranks of fellow ComArtSci professor Dimitar Deliyski. The two are currently the only ComArtSci professors to be given this prestigious title.
By Katie Kochanny