Congratulations to Eryn Travis, Assistant Professor of Communication and Media and participant in the Teaching & Learning Center’s eTextbook Initiative, for completing her new electronic textbook The 21st Century Spokesperson: Crisis Communication in a Hyper-Connected World. Dr. Travis’s book replaces the need to purchase commercial textbooks that would cost approximately $130, and will be provided to WCU students for free and used in MDC 375 Crisis Communication.

As she describes, “Any student pursuing a career involving intense public speaking situations or high-stakes news media interviews will benefit from this textbook shaped by the author’s unique blend of professional and scholarly perspectives. Prior to academia, Dr. Travis had a 15-year career in political communication and public relations, including a role as a spokesperson for the airport industry during 9/11 and its aftermath. During her career, she prepped CEOs for news media interviews with major outlets such as CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post and served as a spokesperson for several organizations. Her academic research centers on what leaders do and say during crisis events that makes a difference to their followers. Several textbooks showcase crisis communication theory while others focus on professional advice such as media training. Yet, like the author, this book blends academic concepts with presentation action steps and highlights how theory drives professional practices.”

The eTextbook Initiative was founded in 2017 as a way to help combat the rising costs of textbooks by teaching WCU faculty how to build their own high-quality, interactive electronic textbooks. These textbooks are then provided to WCU students for free, helping to lower the overall cost of their education while removing the financial barrier to obtaining these educational materials. If you are a WCU faculty member who is interested in building their own eTextbook, please contact Marc Drumm, Senior Instructional Designer, at mdrumm@wcupa.edu.