Professor Leanne K. Knobloch has dedicated her illustrious career in academics to interpersonal communications instruction and research with a special focus on close, personal relationships. Dr. Knobloch earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Norbert College in de Pere, Wisconsin in 1996 and went on to obtain her Master of Arts and doctorate degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and 2001 respectively (University of Illinois, 2021). Only a year later, within Department of Communication at the University of Illinois, Dr. Knobloch would find a professorial position where her career continues to flourish. On her professional website she explains, “I study how people communicate with spouses and family members during times of transition. I teach classes on conflict management, relationship development, and research methods” (Knobloch, 2021). According to her faculty profile page, her most recent work has focused on “how military families communicate after being reunited following deployment, and how romantic couples communicate following a depression diagnosis. Both lines of research provide important insights into how to help people have more satisfying relationships” (University of Illinois, 2021).
Throughout her distinguished career, Dr. Knobloch has garnered many research and teaching awards and is sought out for workshops and lectures featuring her work in support of military families and caregivers with families. Expanding on Berger’s Uncertainty Reduction Theory, Dr. Knobloch and her colleagues “developed a program of research examining relational uncertainty [which refers to] the degree of confidence people have in their perceptions of involvement within interpersonal relationships…similar to Uncertainty Reduction Theory in many ways, the study of relational uncertainty shifts our focus from thinking about how well we can predict our partner’s thoughts and behaviors, to thinking about relationship involvement issues” (Floyd 2017). Dr. Knobloch eloquently summarizes her work thus far, “I have investigated how people’s cognitions, emotions, and behaviors change as relationships progress. My work suggests that people communicate differently when they are uncertain about their relationship or are negotiating interdependence. This area of study is important because relationships can dissolve when people do not communicate effectively during times of transition” (Knobloch 2021). As a career Navy veteran with mental health issues and a family, it is this writer’s humble opinion that Dr. Knobloch’s work is of utmost importance in keeping our nation’s military healthy and ready.
References
Floyd, K., Schrodt, P., Erbert, L., & Trethewey, A. (2017). Exploring communication theory : Making sense of us. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Knobloch, Leanne. (2021). Leanne K. Knobloch (professional website). University of Illinois Department of Communication. http://faculty.las.illinois.edu/knobl/
University of Illinois Department of Communication. (2021). Knobloch, Leanne Ph.D. (faculty profile page). University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. https://communication.illinois.edu/directory/profile/knobl
fabulousbutterfly.com 