Cynthia M. Frisby

Title: Associate professor of advertising

Background: Frisby has built her research program around her desire to refine and evaluate advertising messages and to determine their effects on consumers. Her studies not only help to identify which messages may be most appropriate for specific audiences but also provide insight into how knowledge, culture, motivations, perceptions and attitudes about an issue may influence consumer behavior. She has completed several nationally recognized research projects, including those dedicated to helping health organizations develop communication campaigns for underserved populations. Two other recent projects explore the sources of American viewers' fascination with reality TV and the effects of idealized images on perceptions of body esteem among African-American women. Frisby’s enthusiasm for her research is reflected clearly in the classroom: In 2002, the university awarded her one of its highest teaching honors, the William T. Kemper Fellowship. She joined the Missouri School of Journalism faculty in January 1998.

Education: PhD, journalism and mass communications, University of Florida, 1997

Speaking Topic: Leadership and motivating leaders; careers in advertising; what advertising is and what it is not; being a hero; and the seven habits of highly successful college students