Moody College announces new faculty appointments
Moody College of Communication is expanding the caliber of its research and teaching by adding four new tenure-track faculty and a full-time professional-track professor.
They will be teaching in the Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations, the Department of Communication Studies, School of Journalism and Media and in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences. The new faculty are essential additions to the college as it works to nurture creativity, grow its research portfolio and develop new curriculum and credentials for students.
This year, we asked our new faculty members a few questions so that the Moody Community can get to know them as we kick off the Fall 2026 semester.
Brittany Wheeler
Assistant professor, Department of Communication Studies
Brittany Wheeler obtained her Ph.D. in Communication from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an M.S. in Psychology from Arizona State University. Wheeler seeks to understand how communication processes shape harmful behaviors and social dynamics within organizations. Her research examines workplace bullying and harassment, artificial intelligence and the ways these phenomena influence individual well-being, team functioning and organizational effectiveness. Her research employs a range of computational and quantitative methods, including survey research, computational text analysis and agent-based modeling, to better understand how harmful workplace behaviors emerge, spread and can be mitigated using various intervention approaches. Her current projects focus on using simulation methods to evaluate organizational interventions aimed at reducing workplace bullying and to examine bullying dynamics within a higher education context. Additionally, her work explores the implications of AI-mediated communication for organizations and the individuals who use this technology. Wheeler’s research has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, International Journal of Bullying Prevention, and Frontiers in Psychiatry.
Where are you coming to Moody College from?
I am coming from UC Santa Barbara, where I received my Ph.D. degree in Communication. As someone born in California, I am excited to live somewhere new and be immersed in a different culture.
What courses will you be teaching?
Currently, I teach Communication in the Age of AI (also known as the Dark Side of AI). However, my interests also focus on understanding workplace bullying and harassment in various contexts, particularly within higher education, and on developing intervention approaches to reduce this behavior.
What are you most looking forward to in the upcoming fall semester?
I am most looking forward to getting to know the community at the Moody College and to talking with a group of interested students about AI. Additionally, I am excited to see more of the nature around the city.
Deborah Cannon
Lecturer, School of Journalism and Media
Deborah Cannon was the visuals editor for NPR affiliate KUT, KUTX and the statewide news program The Texas Standard. She has worked as a photojournalist in the Austin Bureau of the Associated Press and for newspapers in Ohio, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Texas where she was a staffer for the Austin American-Statesman for 18 years. During her time at the Statesman, she covered Lance Armstrong’s final two Tour De France victories, the Bush and Obama presidential campaigns, sixteen seasons of Texas football including two National Championship appearances, NBA National Championships, College World Series, numerous natural disasters, two shootings at Fort Hood military base, stories reflecting the implications of statewide and national policies on local marginalized groups and community news. At KUT she led a staff of multimedia producers where she helped to edit and craft multiple Texas Broadcast News and Edward R. Murrow award-winning pieces focusing on community coverage in Austin. During her time there she worked to increase the visual presence of the station’s multimedia work across all KUT/X branded platforms and across the larger Texas Newsroom network and the national NPR digital sites.
What courses will you be teaching?
I will be teaching J311 - Reporting Images
What are you most looking forward to going into the fall semester?
I’m excited for this new role and being able to immerse myself in the journalism department. I’ve been teaching J311 for three semesters as an adjunct and as I transition into a full-time professor I’m looking forward to being able to devote more time to the class and students.
What do you hope students are able to take away from your classes?
A love and greater understanding of visuals! I hope they not only learn how to create better photos and videos but also leave with an understanding of the importance and power of visuals in journalism and why the role of a photojournalist/multimedia journalist is so vital to the news business.
Jacie McHaney
Assistant professor, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
Jacie McHaney earned her B.S. in Psychology from UT Austin and her Ph.D. in Communication Science and Disorders from the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to joining UT Austin, she was a Research Assistant Professor at Northwestern University. Her research program focuses on the neural mechanisms underlying speech processing challenges using an interdisciplinary, multimodal neurophysiological and cognitive computational neuroscience approach. She combines her background in psychology and cognitive neuroscience with her training in neuroscience, audiology and clinical translational sciences to answer questions about the neurobiology underlying difficulties with speech perception in noisy environments. Her long-term research goal is to develop neurobiologically informed, rehabilitative approaches for speech perception in noise difficulties in adults with and without hearing loss.
Where are you coming to Moody College from?
Prior to joining UT Austin, I was a research assistant professor in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Northwestern University.
What courses will you be teaching?
I will be teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, starting with Language and the Brain this fall.
What are you most looking forward to in the upcoming fall semester?
I'm looking forward to building my laboratory and teaching this fall.
Laurent Wang
Assistant professor, Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations
Laurent Wang is an assistant professor in the Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations of the Moody College of Communication. His research focuses on the social and psychological uses and effects of information communication technologies (e.g., social media, AI), with particular emphasis on how people negotiate online privacy decisions and navigate digital inequality challenges. He has published in leading journals in his field, such as Communication Research, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Journal of Advertising, Communication Monographs and New Media & Society. His research activities have been supported by various funding sources, such as the National Science Foundation and the Washington Media Scholars Foundation. He has also received prestigious research awards at UC Santa Barbara, such as the James J. Bradac Award and the Steven H. Chaffee Award for Excellence in Research. His current research investigates the effectiveness of message-based interventions designed to evoke human resistance to dataveillance and to combat feelings of privacy helplessness in algorithm-driven digital contexts.
Where are you coming to Moody College from?
From Santa Barbara, California, where I've lived for nine years while obtaining my B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in Communication at UC Santa Barbara.
What courses will you be teaching?
I will be teaching ADV318J: Intro to integrated brand communication in fall 2026.
What are you most looking forward to in the upcoming fall semester?
I am looking forward to exploring all the fun activities and delicious restaurants in Austin, as well as connecting with the amazing UT community!
Yibing Sun
Assistant professor, School of Journalism and Media
Sun’s research explores how visual media and artificial intelligence are transforming the way information is communicated, shared, and understood. By combining computational methods, experiments and large language models (LLMs), she investigates the persuasive power of visuals and the spread of multimodal content across digital media ecosystems. She received her B.A. in Broadcasting from Tongji University and later earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin–Madison before joining The University of Texas.
Where are you coming to Moody College from?
I'm joining UT Austin after earning my Ph.D. in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Originally from China, my academic journey has given me the opportunity to study and conduct research across different cultural and media environments, which continues to shape my research and teaching.
What courses will you be teaching?
This fall, I'll be teaching Data, Evidence and Storytelling, an undergraduate course that introduces students to finding, evaluating, and visualizing data to tell compelling, evidence-based stories.
What are you most looking forward to in the upcoming fall semester?
I'm excited to become part of the Moody College community and to connect with students and colleagues. I'm looking forward to collaborating across the college and helping students develop the data and AI literacy they'll need to thrive in the future of journalism and media.
