Dr. Jefferson (B.A. Marshall University; M.A Ohio University; Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh) joined the faculty in 1997.

Her areas of scholarship are political communication and public address. Her primary research interest is the rhetoric of the Cold War, specifically American anti-communism, and the rhetorical forms used to teach anti-communist assumptions to a mass public.

She is currently serving a three-year term on the National Communication Association Educational Policy Board.

She regularly teaches The Rhetorical Tradition, the first course in the communication major, Communication Criticism and American Public Address.