Dr. Erika Anderson

Erika earned dual degrees from Hope College in Holland, Michigan; a B.A. in Communication and a B.S. in Political Science. After working as a lobbyist for the environmental lobby, she returned to college and earned her Master's in Communication from the University of Maine at Orono and her Ph.D. in Interpersonal Communication from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Anderson joined the faculty in the Department of Communication & Media Studies at the University of Southern Maine in 1998.

Erika's research interests include communication in romantic relationships, relationship development in the computer-mediated context, persuasion and brain-stem functioning, and the biology of relational communication. She teaches a variety of courses for USM, including interpersonal communication, persuasion, conflict resolution, nonverbal communication, and small group communication. Dr. Anderson has also converted all of her classes to an online format so that she teaches both on campus and online.

Dr. Anderson has received research grants from the National Institutes of Health, the University of Connecticut, and the AdCouncil. Erika's research was internationally recognized by the International Communication Association when she won the "Top Paper Award at the International Level" in the Interpersonal Communication Division and the "Top Paper Award at the International Level" in Applied Communication. Additionally, Erika was awarded "Teacher of the Year" at the University of Connecticut; was the recipient of the National Communication Award for Outstanding Graduate Student, and won the UCONN Outstanding Graduate Student Fellowship Award.

Additionally, Dr. Anderson was recently selected to conduct research on intercultural communication in online education and will be spending time in Asia and Europe conducting workshops and gathering data.

In her "spare" time, Erika is a marathon runner and triathlete. She resides in Kennebunk with her husband Jeff and their three children.

Please email for an appointment.
phone: (207) 780-5035, email: erika.anderson@maine.edu