Melissa M. Smith

My life is busy, just like yours. I'm a wife and mother, but I'm also a professor of communication at Mississippi University for Women. (The university has also admitted men for 20 years, but they keep refusing to change the name.) I started out as a newspaper reporter and editor and then moved into television news, where I was a producer.

Eventually I decided it was time for a change. I returned to college and pursued my master's and doctoral degrees. While in graduate school, I met my husband, who was studying in the same field. We got married while we were still students, and this year we celebrated our 17th anniversary. We have one son, who is about to embark on his own college career.

I love teaching my students, and they often bring a smile to my face. Of course, when it's grading time, that smile often turns to scowls, and I've been known to yell out loud in frustration. I often have "grading hair." That's when it sticks up in the back from my pulling on it while trying to make sense of a student's paper. It can be embarrassing to walk out and not know it's sticking up.

I have a great interest in politics and communication, which is my area of academic research. I began researching campaign finance, but now have moved into discussions about political campaigns and how they adapt communication technology. Check out my books, and let me know if you find them helpful or interesting.