Laura Vernon is an associate professor of English in the professional writing program.
She received her doctorate in the Theory & Practice of Professional Communication
at Utah State University (Logan, Utah) in 2013. In 1998, she earned a master’s degree
in Professional Communication at Westminster College (Salt Lake City, Utah) shortly
after graduating in 1994 from Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah) with a bachelor’s
degree in Journalism.
At Radford University, Dr. Vernon teaches English 306: Professional Writing, English
406: Topics in Professional Writing, English 407: Professional Editing, English 605:
Teaching Professional Writing, English 608: Professional and Technical Writing, English
610: Proposal and Grant Writing, and other courses as assigned. She also coordinates
the Graduate Certificate in Professional Writing program.
Dr. Vernon’s research interests include environmental rhetoric, strategic communication,
and teaching and learning (pedagogy). Her work includes such topics as environmental
advocacy and spiritual ecology, ePortfolios, student reflection and engagement, and
professional writing program development and administration.
Before returning to school for her PhD, Dr. Vernon enjoyed a successful 12-year career
as a professional communicator. Her background includes writing and editing, public
and media relations, organizational and strategic communication, publication and project
management, and document design and production in both print and digital formats.
