Emory Woodard

Dr. Woodard has been a member of the Villanova faculty since 2000, and earned tenure and promotion in the spring of 2006. Raised in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, Dr. Woodard earned his B.A. (with highest distinction) from the University of Virginia, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication. He currently serves as Dean of Graduate Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Woodard believes that social research should advance our understanding of the social experience--and that it should also be socially relevant, clearly identifying social problems (or opportunities) and, where possible, suggesting solutions. His research generally seeks to advance understanding about audience experiences with the media (primarily television, but also new media such as the Internet). Specifically, his work focuses on three distinct audiences: children, the elderly, the disadvantaged and African-Americans. His scholarship has explored the regulatory, technological, developmental, psychological and social forces that shape the experiences of these audiences. In addition to his examination of the experiences of these distinct audiences, he has investigated the consumer culture that permeates audiences of advertiser-supported media.

Dr. Woodard has published over a dozen journal articles and book chapters related to this research program. His articles have appeared in a range of communication and specialized journals, including the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Media Psychology, the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, and Zero to Three. His chapters have appeared in the well-received collection, Handbook of Children's Television Research, Children in the Digital Age, and in the volume, Mass Media Effects Research.

Since 1995, he has given more than a dozen papers at major conferences, including presentations at events organized by the International Communication Association, the National Communication Association and the Summit on Children's Media Policy.