Title: Director
Company: Purdue Policy Research Institute
Location: Lafayette, Indiana, United States
Stacey L. Connaughton, PhD, director at Purdue Policy Research Institute, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators for dedication, achievements, and leadership in academia.
With over three decades of experience to her credit, Ms. Connaughton has established a successful career in academia, specializing in political violence prevention. She currently serves as a professor at the Brian Lamb School of Communication, College of Liberal Arts, Purdue University, a role she has held since 2020, and as director of the Purdue Policy Research Institute since 2019. Her prior roles include associate professor of communication at Purdue University from 2005 to 2020 and assistant professor of communication at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, from 2001 to 2005. She laid a solid educational foundation with a joint master’s degree in communication studies and Latin American studies, followed by a PhD, both from the University of Texas at Austin in 2002. She also contributes her expertise as the organizational communication officer for the International Communication Association and as a member of the National Communication Association.
Ms. Connaughton specializes in leadership and political violence prevention, founding the Purdue Policy Research Institute in 2011 to address these issues through community collaboration. Her work spans Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria, focusing on election-related violence, land disputes, and workplace violence during the Ebola outbreak. She manages extensive research programs, mentors students at all levels, and engages them in global initiatives. In 2024, she will host a significant policy consortium, bringing together leaders from government, industry, military, and academia to develop impactful forecasts. Throughout her career, she has achieved several notable accomplishments, including authoring multiple books and white papers, publishing 35 to 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, and editing various handbooks. She has contributed research to the Diplomatic Courier and has been the recipient of numerous grants and gifts supporting the Purdue Peace Project. Her honors include the humanitarian award from the Association for Women in Communications, the trailblazer award from Purdue University, and the faculty engagement scholar award from Purdue University.
Reflecting on her path, Ms. Connaughton takes great pride in the pivotal role she and her team played in facilitating peace in a Ghanaian city by aiding in the resolution of its traditional leadership dispute and in Liberia, where they organized a local peace committee to disseminate critical anti-Ebola messages. She also finds deep fulfillment in her annual trips to Saudi Arabia, where, for 15 years, she has taught research presentation skills while gaining valuable cultural insights. She attributes her success to the individuals who have supported and believed in her. Looking to the future, she is eager to continue advancing Purdue University’s transdisciplinary research excellence and mentoring its graduate students. She also remains dedicated to representing her university on the global stage, fostering spaces for diverse and meaningful conversations on critical issues impacting the world.
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