Dr. Mary Cassata is Associate Professor Emerita for Mass Communication and past Director of the University's research endeavor, "Project Daytime." She taught courses on the growth and development of the media; mass communication theory; media ethics, issues and controversies; social effects of the media, media literacy; and cultural indicators of daytime television. While her research interests broadly relate to the pivotal role the media play in society, more specifically they focus on cultural indicators relating to soap operas; i.e., institutional policy analysis, message systems analysis, and cultivation analysis. Dr. Cassata is the author of several articles, papers, and monographs on her teaching and research interests, and is recognized as a leading authority, nationally and internationally, on the subject of soap operas.