For the 2024 Dale Brashers Memorial Lecture, professor emeritus John Lammers will review the progress made in applying institutional theory and analysis to communication studies, especially with respect to organizational health communication.
Institutional Theory relates to how and why human affairs remain the same, focusing on sources of permanence instead of change. In this talk, Lammers will summarize the work that he and others undertook in his 30 years in communication, while addressing opportunities and challenges for further contributions in the application of institutional theory to organizational health communication research.
During his time at Illinois, Lammers helped found the Health Communication Online Masters of Science Program (HCOM) and taught courses in health communication and organizational communication. His research areas included institutional theory, communication in healthcare organizations, and leadership.
Lammers received a bachelor's degree in psychology from California State University, Humboldt, and a master's degree and doctorate from the University of California, Davis, and was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University. He also served as a chair of the Organizational Communication Division of the National Communication Association and the Health Communication Division of the International Communication Association.
For those who cannot attend in person, please click here to attend virtually via Zoom.
The Dale Brashers Memorial Lecture is organized in honor of Dale Brashers, a pioneer in the field of health communication most known for his research on uncertainty management. Although Dale had an international reputation for his sophisticated theorizing and rigorous research methodology, most remember him for his generosity and kindhearted nature. At the time of his passing in 2010, he was the Head of the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
