Donna L. Dickerson is professor of communication and Dean of the School of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Tyler. Her teaching areas are communication law, freedom of expression, qualitative research methods, and critical and persuasive writing. Among Dickersons' publications are books, chapters, and articles concerning the history of freedom of expression, media law, and media history. Before joining the University of Texas at Tyler, Dickerson was Director of the School of Mass Communications, then interim dean of the Graduate School at the University of South Florida. She earned her Ph.D. in journalism and mass communication from Southern Illinois University.