Contact Information
702 South Wright Street
Urbana IL 61801
Biography
Déjà Rollins is a Dallas, Texas native, whose professional experience in radio & TV broadcasting laid the foundation for her doctoral studies in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois. Her research centers on mediated communication and technology with an emphasis on its effect on race, culture, and identity.
In her free time, Déjà enjoys spending time with her 2 kids, hitting the gym, posting her dinner recipes online, and binge-watching new TV series.
Research Interests
Media Effects; Media Psychology; Prosocial media use and effects; Media & Emotion, Traditional & Social Media
Research Description
Déjà's research investigates both the beneficial and adverse effects of mediated disseminated messages about audiences whose identities lie within the margins of society. Specifically, she examine the ways in which mediated messages about diverse populations affect the emotions, attitudes, and behaviors of both in-group and out-group members
Education
2018 – M.A., Emerging Media & Communication, The University of Texas at Dallas
2012 – B.S., Journalism, The University of Texas at Tyler
Grants
2023 President’s Research in Diversity Travel Award (awarded $600 by the V.P. for Academic Affairs)
2022 Ruth Anne Clark Research Grant (awarded $2,000 by UIUC Department of Communication)
2020 Summer Pre-Doctoral Institute Fellow (awarded $2,500 by Graduate College)
2020 Graduate College Fellowship (awarded $75,000 by UIUC Graduate College)
Awards and Honors
2022 Henry L. Muller Teaching Award, UIUC Department of Communication
2020 Summer Pre-Doctoral Institute Outstanding Scholar Award, UIUC Graduate College
List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Fall 2021 Public Speaking
- Spring 2022 Public Speaking
- Summer 2022 Family Communication
- Fall 2022 Intro to Mediated Communication
- Spring 2023 Intro to Mediated Communication
- Summer 2023 Family Communication
Courses Taught
CMN 101 – Public Speaking
CMN 336 - Family Communication
CMN 277 – Intro to Mediated Communication
Additional Campus Affiliations
Black Graduate Student Association
- President (2022-2023)
- Treasurer (2021-2022)
Highlighted Publications
Stamps, D., Jordan, J., & Rollins, D. (2025). The plight of police propaganda: audiences’ consumption of ingroup
police TV characters and attitudes toward the police. Journal of Applied Communication Research,
1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2025.2602656
Smith, M. A., Myers, C. L., Chong, M., Clark, M. D., Lim, S., Rollins, D. D., Fields, V. F., Rodrigues, L.,
Njonge, W., & Martin, O. (2025). Rooted in White identity politics: Tracing the genealogy of critical
race theory discourse in identity-based disinformation. Political Communication. 42(5), 815-837.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2025.2458069
Thompson, C. M., Bishop, M. J., Dillard, T. C., Maurice, J. M., Rollins, D. D., Pulido, M. D., Salas, M. J.,
Mendelson, E. A., Yan, J., Gerlikovski, E. R., Benevento, S. V., Zeinstra, C., & Kesavadas, T. (2025).
Healing health care disparities: Development and pilot testing of a virtual reality implicit bias training
module for physicians in the context of Black maternal health. Health communication, 40(3), 445-456.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2024.2347000
Weeks, K. R., Dixon, T. L., Butkowski, C. P., Smith, M. A., Benevento, S. V., Rollins, D. D., & Tolbert, A. N.
(2024). The Portrayal of Black Family Social Instability: A Content Analysis of Family and Race
Rollins, D., Bridgewater, E., Munzer, T., Robb, M., Weeks, H., Schaller, A., Yancich, M., Gipson, W.,
Drogos, K., & Radesky, J. (2022). Who is the YOU in YouTube? Missed Opportunities in Race
and Representation in Children’s YouTube Videos. Common Sense Media Report.
Rollins, D. D. (2021, February 8). A Digital Collective Gaze: How Black Women on Twitter used
Hippolyta’s Futuristic Journey to Look Back. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://mediacommons.org/imr/content/digital-collective-gaze-how-black-women-twitter-used-hippolytas-futuristic-journey-look-back