Christy Beth Yates

Assistant Professor of Communication

PhD, Organizational & Instructional Communication
Ohio University
Master of Arts, MA, Organizational Communication
Ohio University
Bachelor of Science, Speech Communication
James Madison University

Teaching Fields: Organizational Communication & Behavior, Organizational Development, Organizational Culture, Change Management, Process Improvement, Organizational Audits, Conflict Resolution, Mediation, & Non-violent Communication, Teamwork and Small Group Communication, Leadership, Creativity and Creative Problem Solving, Intercultural Communication, Project, Program, and Event Management, Human Resources and Employee Development, Employee Relations & Human Performance Factors, Job Classification & Compensation Analysis.

Dr. Yates combines a passion for continuous learning and practical application of knowledge with her academic preparation in Conflict Studies, Human Resources, Organizational Communication, and Instructional Communication. Complimenting 35+ years of teaching, she brings professional experience from roles in Organizational Development at the Architect of the Capitol's Office in Washington, DC and as a Publication Design Specialist at NASA headquarters.

She has applied her academic expertise to administrative roles at 91吃瓜网 through service as the Director of Strategic Planning, President's Office; Director of Special Projects & Initiatives, Division of Business and Finance; and the Deputy Chief Human Resources Officer.

Currently, teaching full-time in the Communication Arts Department, she teaches courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level including Conflict Management, Leadership and Teamwork, & Intercultural Communication, as well as teaching graduate courses as needed int he Industrial and Organizational Psychology Department.

Dr. Yates loves serving as a program advisor for students, overseeing their internship experiences, and collaborating with colleagues across campus on experiential and inter-disciplinary projects to bring academic ideas to life for our students and our community.

Scholarship:

1. Mentored student Cassandra Ayres in successful submission and acceptance to the 2025 Undergraduate Student Research Symposium with a presentation on Using Frame Theory to make sense of Roman Exceptionalism as it was represented throughout imperialist histories.

2. Co-presented with student Cassandra Ayres at the 2025 South Georgia Film Festival in a panel discussion presenting the use of film as educational tool from the perspective of both a student (in fulfillment of assignment where film is not a requirement and as a learning tool) and from the instructor's perspective (in using film as a pedagogical tool, an experiential learning reference, and as a form of assessment).

3. Created a successful new series of tools and presentations based on Cy Wakeman’s work that culminated in two standing-room only interactive break-out sessions offered at the President’s 2024 annual convocation:

How to Manage Energy Instead of People: Utilizing Cy Wakeman’s Reality Based Leadership

Challenging Thoughts on Resilience: Using New Tools to Develop Ideas as a Team

4. Development and implementation of a market-based compensation system (for staff & faculty) to remain a competitive recruiter of talent in our region, including a 5-year phased salary adjustment plan for current employees not at market for their positions.

5. Development of a classification system that reduced the institution from over 3,000 individual position descriptions to less than 300 job profiles in tiered job families; including new pay grades, job codes, and compensable factors.

6. Successful development and implementation of a 5-year salary adjustment plan; including designing metrics and tracking tools, managing institutional communications, data validation, and ensuring pay equity and consistency of policy as it related to compensation in both theory and practice.

229.245.4358

cbyates@valdosta.edu

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