Campus Life

UWF professor to present on the role of humor and happiness in health care at upcoming Experience UWF Downtown lecture series

Dr. Athena du Pré, communications professor at the University of West Florida, will present a lecture on the role of humor and happiness in health care on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 5:30 p.m. The event will be held at the Pensacola Museum of Commerce, located at 201 East Zaragoza St. in downtown Pensacola.

Du Pré’s lecture, titled “Laugh for the Health of It: The Role of Humor and Happiness in Health Care,” is part of the Experience UWF Downtown lecture series. The event is free and open to the public.

A former journalist and hospital public relations director, du Pré has worked as a consultant and leadership development coach with organizations in health care, finance, law enforcement, retail, aerospace and defense and nonprofit sectors.

Du Pré authored Communicating About Health: Current Issues and Perspectives (3rd ed.), which focuses on the application of communication and practical advice as a resource to improve communication abilities in the health care field. She has also published many other books, journal articles and chapters on communicating effectively in modern organizations.

Currently, du Pré serves as the director of the Strategic Communication & Leadership master’s degree program and the Health Communication Leadership graduate-level certificate program. Her specialties include patient-caregiver communication, coping with health crises, humor and healing and workplace dynamics. Du Pré has received numerous awards, including being named Distinguished Teacher of the Year twice by the student body and was recently awarded the title Distinguished University Professor.

Du Pré earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communication from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a doctorate in communication from the University of Oklahoma.

Experience UWF Downtown is a four-part lecture series that promotes the value of the liberal arts in contemporary life. It showcases outstanding teacher scholars who serve the community as UWF faculty, as well as scholars of national prominence who amply illustrate the essential role of the liberal arts in building and sustaining contemporary culture.