Biography

Dr. Jan Andersen came to SDSU in 1981 and served on the faculty for 26 years before retiring from SDSU and receiving Emeritus Professor Status. During that time she also served as a department chair, as chair of the SDSU Senate, and as interim Dean of the Imperial Valley Campus and SDSU Graduate Dean. 

She spent three years as a special Academic Consultant to the Chancellor and was an Associate Vice President at SDSU for Community Academic Partnerships. She received the Monty award for outstanding faculty contributions and the Western States Communication Association Distinguished Service award, the highest honor of that association. She was an elected President of the Western States Communication Association and served on the governing boards of both the National Communication Association as well as the International Communication Association. 

She continues to serve as an external consultant to departments undergoing program reviews, having done over 20 departmental reviews. She was recognized as an outstanding teacher having received several teaching awards from her students and her professional colleagues. She taught nonverbal communication, interpersonal communication, communication theory, instructional communication, communication research methods, and directed the basic communication course. 

She was part of the team that initiated the freshman experience at SDSU. Her research in teacher immediacy is the reason why she remains one of the top 25 cited authors in the field of communication. With over 100 conference presentations and 50 publications she is an accomplished researcher. 

She has also served on more than 10 editorial boards and continues to do occasional reviewing for journals. 

After retiring from SDSU, she accepted the position of Dean of the School of Communication at Emerson College in Boston, the only higher education institution in the US devoted exclusively to Communication and the Arts. After six years at Emerson, having served a full term as Dean, she retired back to San Diego. 

She is still active in professional organizations, currently serving on the WSCA executive council and President of the WSCA Executives Club. On occasion she guest lectures, accepts consulting invitations, and shares her professional expertise through mentoring or review processes. 

She continues to do considerable travel and outdoor activity, as well enjoying friends, family, reading, and seeing movies. But most of her extra time these days is spent with her young granddaughter helping her to develop excellent communication skills.