Brenda J. Allen, Ph.D.

Biographical Sketch

Brenda J. Allen (Ph.D., Howard University) is an Associate Dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and a Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Colorado Denver (UCD).  She also is a faculty member of HERS (Higher Education Resource Services), the Knapsack Institute, and the Women's college at the University of Denver. Her research and teaching areas are organizational communication, diversity, group communication, and computer-mediated communication.  Among her numerous publications is a groundbreaking book entitled Difference Matters: Communicating Social Identity (2004, Waveland Press).  She serves as Master Mentor of the Tenure Track Faculty Mentoring Program at UCD. In addition, she presents keynote speeches and conducts workshops for various groups on a range of topics, including diversity, teamwork, self-empowerment, and presentational speaking. She also is an executive coach.
            Dr. Allen has received numerous awards and accolades, including the Francine Merritt Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Lives of Women in Communication from the National Communication Association (2004).  In January 2006, she received the first Annual Award for Outstanding Achievement for Commitment to Diversity at UCD. She also was named a Master Teacher (2007-2008) by the Western States Communication Association.

Select Publications [Click on title for a copy]

Allen, B.J. (In Press). Difference Matters: Communicating Social Identity. Chapter One. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Publishers.

2007 Allen, B.J. Theorizing communication and race. Communication Monographs 74, pp. 259-274.

2006    Allen, B.J.  Communicating race at WeighCo.  In J.T. Wood and S. Duck  (Eds.)  Composing relationships:  Communication in  everyday life (pp. 146-154).

2005 Allen, B.J.   Social constructionism.  In:  S. May and D. Mumby (Eds.).  Engaging organizational communication theory and research:  Multiple perspectives (pp. 35-53).   Thousand Oaks, CA:  Sage Publications.

2004    Allen, B. J. Sapphire and Sappho:  Allies in authenticity  In A. Gonzales, M., Houston, & V.  Chen: Our voices:  Essays in culture, ethnicity, and communication  (4th Edition) (pp. 198-202).  Los Angeles:  Roxbury Publishing Co.

2002 Allen, B.J.   Goals for emancipatory communication research on Black women.  In M. Houston & O. Davis (Eds.)  Centering ourselves: African American feminist and womanist studies of discourse (pp. 21-34).  Creskill, NJ : Hampton Press.

1998    Allen, B.J. Black womanhood and feminist standpoints.  Management Communication Quarterly 11: 575-586.

1999    Allen, B.J., Orbe, M., & Olivas, M.O.  The complexity of our tears:
Dis/enchantment and (in)difference in the academy. Communication Theory 9: 402-430.

2009 Ashcraft, K.L., & Allen, B.J. Politics even closer to home: Repositioning CME from the standpoint of communication studies.  Management Learning, 40(1), 11-30.

2003    Ashcraft, K. L., & Allen, B. J.  The racial foundation of organizational communication.  Communication Theory 13: 5-33.

Complete list of publications on Dr. Allen's C.V.