Professional Communication

Biography:

Academic background:

• English Literature: A.B. Herbert H. Lehman College, City University of New York (Honors in English; cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa)
• A.M. University of Michigan
• Ph.D. University of Toronto (doctoral dissertation: "The Middle Eastern Writings of James Morier: Traveller, Novelist, and Creator of Hajji Baba").

I've been teaching at Ryerson for many years; before Ryerson, I taught part-time in the Department of English, University of Toronto.

My particular academic interests are corporate communications and nonprofit/voluntary sector communications.

Publications:

•  Canadian author of Excellence in Business Communication, 4th Edition.  John Thill, Courtland Bovée, and Ava Cross.  Toronto: Pearson Education Canada, 2010.
• Cross, A. (2006). Nonprofit Communications From a Corporate Communications Viewpoint. Business Communication Quarterly 69: 316-319.
• Talking Business: Strategies for Successful Presentations.  Toronto: Prentice Hall Canada, 2000.  Original book; sole University College Guide to Essay Writing, Second Edition.  Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1983 (with Douglas Freake and M. Theresa Griffin).

I've delivered presentations at Association for Business Communication conferences on the explication of the annual report, teaching crisis communication, and other topics.  I've reviewed academic texts for various publishers.  I'm a member of the Business Communication Quarterly editorial review board.

In 2001 I received a grant from the McConnell Foundation to develop a service-learning component within the Department of Professional Communication.  This project evolved into CMN444 Studies in On-Site Communication: The Nonprofit Sector, designed for students who wish to pursue independent study in nonprofit/voluntary sector communication under the guidance of a faculty advisor.