Judith LePera Dutill, MA 2006

Since earning my MA in Professional Communication (‘06) at IPFW I moved back to my home state of Pennsylvania.  My first position out of the program was as Retention Specialist at Rosemont College in suburban Philadelphia.  In this position I designed and conducted a communication audit in order to study student retention patterns in their schools of graduate and professional studies.  Based on the results of this study I was able to make recommendations to the school which informed the drafting of the college’s first retention plan. Simultaneously, during this time, I continued as an adjunct faculty member at various institutions teaching courses in communication. 

Eventually, I phased myself into full time adjunct teaching and academic advising.  I was recently offered and accepted a full time tenure track faculty position at Harrisburg Area Community College’s York Campus and I look forward to continuing my work in the field of communication as an educator beginning Fall 2009.

These experiences would not have been possible without the confidence and knowledge that I gained during my graduate studies at IPFW.  I was nurtured by a caring, knowledgeable, and professional faculty who I viewed as professors and mentors during my studies.  The program afforded me the flexibility to focus my studies on my own personal interest in communication in the higher education setting. The program transformed my life and my professional career.