Contact Information
702 South Wright Street
Urbana IL 61801
Research Areas
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 kids, hitting the gym, recording & 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
My current research investigates both the beneficial and adverse effects of mediated disseminated messages about audiences whose identities lie within the margins of society. Specifically, I examine the ways in which mediated messages about diverse populations affect the emotions, attitudes, and behaviors of both ingroup and outgroup members
Education
2018 – M.A., Emerging Media & Communication, The University of Texas at Dallas
2012 – B.S., Journalism, The University of Texas at Tyler | Minor - Speech Communication
Grants
2023 President’s Research in Diversity Travel Award (awarded $600 by the V.P. for Academic Affairs)
2023 Student Travel Grant (awarded $300 by National Communication Association)
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
- Fall 2021
- Spring 2022
CMN 336 - Family Communication
- Summer 2022
- Summer 2023
CMN 277 – Intro to Mediated Communication
- Fall 2022
- Spring 2023
Additional Campus Affiliations
Black Graduate Student Association
- President (2022-2023)
- Treasurer (2021-2022)
External Links
Highlighted Publications
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.
(2024). 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,1-12.
Weeks, K. R., Dixon, T. L., Butkowski, C. P., Smith, M. A., Benevento, S. V., Rollins, D. D., & Tolbert,
A. N. The Portrayal of Black Family Social Instability: A Content Analysis of Family and Race
across Traditional and New Media Sources. In US Media and Diversity (pp. 83-100). Routledge.
Guntzviller, L. M., Pulido, M. D., Kelpinski, L. F., Makos, S., Rollins, D. D., Zenzola, N. V., &
Babu, S. (2023). An extension of advice response theory over time. Human Communication
Research, 49(4), 361-371.
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-…