Associate Professor Mary Frances Casper, MSPR, PhD, has served at Boise State University since fall 2006. She is the Public Relations Certificate program director and PRSSA advisor. Mary Frances teaches public relations and visual communication courses in the Department of Communication.
Her scholarship shares the same underlying questions. What role do media messages play in our understandings of reality and the world, our expectations of the good life, and our concepts of self and identity? Her interest lies primarily with gender and groups often marginalized by media: women, children, and those considered Other.
Mary Frances is committed to community building, which has led to collaborative scholarship and interdisciplinary work. In addition to publishing journal articles and book chapters, she has presented at local, regional, and national conferences, earning a 2008 Top Paper award in Rhetoric and Public Address from the Western States Communication Association.
Since 2008, Mary Frances has served as a member-at-large for PRSA Idaho, and she is the 2013 president elect. She has received several teaching and advising awards, and she works closely with students to facilitate engagement, build and maintain connections with the community, and foster commitment and active involvement.
Mary Frances resides in Boise, Idaho, with her husband, five children, three dogs, a cat, a fish, and a hedgehog. A visual artist and an admitted pop culture junkie, she is thrilled to have a job that requires her to watch television, peruse YouTube, and wade through the Web.