New Faculty Member-Bonnie Nickels

The Department of Communication welcomed Dr. Bonnie Nickels to the faculty as Assistant Teaching Professor this fall.  Dr. Nickels is a Western New York native; she grew up in Geneseo and Livonia near Conesus Lake. Her academic journey began at Morrisville College, where she earned an associate degree in journalism. Then her bachelor’s in communication was earned from SUNY Geneseo, a Master’s was accomplished at RIT, and a doctorate at UB in 2016. Most of Dr. Nickels’ research has been on end-of-life communication, socially supportive messages, and analysis of mediated depictions of end-of-life communication. Currently, she is running a study about end-of-life communication during COVID-19, and her team is in the data analysis stage. Dr. Nickels chose to pursue a teaching career at UB because of its friendly and welcoming atmosphere and diverse student population, where one can engage with others from different backgrounds and perspectives and gain invaluable cultural exchange. She enjoys teaching Interpersonal Communication, and her enthusiasm for the topic shines, often evaluated by former students as contagious.  Welcome, Bonnie!