Professor of Communication Studies
Director of the Center for Professional Communication
434.544.8178
youra@lynchburg.edu
Elliot & Rosel Schewel Hall 329
Education
Dr. Paula Youra joined the University of Lynchburg faculty in 1991. Her research offers academic expertise in political and business communication. Dr. Youra holds a BA degree in Communication Studies from California State University at Sacramento, an MA degree in Rhetoric from the University of California at Davis, and a PhD in Speech Communication from the Pennsylvania State University.
Teaching Areas
Dr. Youra currently teaches courses, researches and publishes in the areas of Intercultural Communication, Persuasion, Public Presentation, Political Rhetorical, and Debate. Dr. Youra also offers a variety of online courses and a study abroad course in Intercultural Communication. Dr. Youra rounds out her involvement with her students as the Debate and Forensics Society coach.
Publications and Professional Interests
Dr. Youra is the author of five books including Pomp and Circumstance: Ceremonial Speaking (2000), Vowed to Justice: The Story of Elliot and Rosel Schewel (2012) and numerous published articles on political communication, public presentation, civil rights rhetoric, and business communication. She has presented more than 100 research papers to national and regional communication conferences and internationally in Berlin and Madrid.
Presently Dr. Youra serves as the director for the Center of Professional Communication at University of Lynchburg whose mission is to provide training assistance to nonprofit and for-profit organizations, their employees, managers, supervisors, support staff, and volunteers, to communicate clearly, confidently, and effectively in the pursuit of their organizational goals.