Anand Rao, associate professor of communication at the University of Mary Washington, is being featured on the radio program With Good Reason beginning Saturday, Oct. 31.
In the episode “BFFs, Girlfriends, Besties,” Rao will discuss his work with college students to help them better navigate social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram and anonymous platforms such as Yik-Yak.
With Good Reason is a program from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. The show airs weekly in Fredericksburg on Sundays at 2 p.m. on Radio IQ 88.3 Digital. To listen from outside of the Fredericksburg area, a complete list of air times and links to corresponding radio stations can be found at http://withgoodreasonradio.org/when-to-listen and can be accessed through its podcast, found at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/withgoodreason/id117078035?mt=2.
Rao, who also is director of the Speaker Center and the Speaking Intensive Program at UMW, has incorporated social media in his classes so students can better understand and practice effective communication, especially through a growing and necessary venue in the working world. One of his classes, called “Social Media,” charges students with running social media accounts and explores how current technology shapes how people communicate with one another.
Rao specializes in uses of new media, including social networking, blogging, micro-blogging and convergence media. He also specializes in rhetoric in the courts. He recently co-founded and serves as director of the new Communication and Digital Studies major at the university, which focuses on the digital and technological aspects of communication.
In addition, Rao is serving as chair of UMW’s University Faculty Council. He is vice chair of the National Association of Communication Centers and past president of the American Association for the Rhetoric of Science and Technology.
Rao earned a doctorate and master’s degree in rhetoric and communication, as well as a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, from the University of Pittsburgh. He has taught at the University of Mary Washington since 2002.
