Education

Ph.D. Strategic Communication, December 2022, Summa Cum Laude

University of Oklahoma—Norman, Oklahoma

Emphasis—Strategic Communication (health and digital communication)
Dissertation topic: Social media message framing for suicide gatekeepers

M.A. Journalism and Mass Communication, May 2007, Summa Cum Laude

University of Oklahoma—Norman, Oklahoma

University of Colorado—Colorado Springs, CO

2002 Outstanding Communication Undergraduate and Outstanding Social Science Undergraduate

Emphasis—Media management and recording arts

Research Interests

• Message framing effects (health communication and social media)
• Media technology acceptance and effectiveness (virtual reality and digital platforms)
• Health communication for at-risk populations

Teaching Experience

Assistant Professor (tenured faculty) (August 2019 to present)—University of Central Oklahoma. Teach in-person and online sections of Fundamentals of Speech, Strategic Communication Writing, Principles of Public Relations, Digital and Social Communication, Media Research, Strategic Communication Campaigns, and Digital Media Strategy. Supervise STLR (Student Transformative Learning) students on professional projects. Give presentations at department events for students and faculty. Assist on committees as needed.

Adjunct Faculty (August 2017 to July 2019)—University of Central Oklahoma. Taught daytime sections of Fundamentals of Speech, which included assessing presentations, papers, quizzes, and exams. Gave presentations during each of the college’s Mass Communication Week programs.

Graduate Teaching Assistant and Discussion Lab Instructor (August 2005 to December 2006)—University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Assistant teacher for History of Journalism, Writing for the Media, and Intro to Mass Communication courses. Independently led mass communication discussion sections for undergraduate courses.

Professional Experience

Contract Writer/Blogger (April 2016 to present)—Write breaking news, heath marketing blogs, and health quizzes for Coffey Communications, a company that provides digital health content to hospital and health insurance networks nationwide. Includes attending meetings and training on strategic writing and social media skills.

Freelance Journalist (April 2012 to March 2020)—“Mom Around Town” columnist for the Edmond Sun. Wrote feature stories and breaking news for the publication. Responsible for maintaining favorable relationships within the community to gain knowledge on best practices for encouraging parental involvement in Edmond.

Staff Editor/Social Media Manager (January 2014 to August 2017)—Today’s Veterinary Practice & Today’s Veterinary Technician. Conducted interviews, wrote articles, edited technical articles, and managed and developed web content and social media for the North American Veterinary Conference’s (NAVC) peer-reviewed journals. Also worked as the onsite writer for the NAVC’s daily publication at the 2016 & 2017 annual conference in Orlando, Florida.

Public Affairs Specialist/Writer-Editor (May 2007 to September 2010)—National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, MD. Wrote press releases and speeches, handled press conferences/interviews, worked on website updates and analytics, conducted fundraising campaigns with web-based communication strategies, and produced the National Health and Examination Surveys’ 50^th anniversary video. Also wrote and presented a paper about media policies at the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe in Warsaw, Poland (2009) and worked with other international presenters on a manual titled Making Data Meaningful.

Health and Metro Reporter (2005–2007)—Wrote articles covering breaking news, health, business, and entertainment for the Moore American and Norman Transcript newspapers, Oklahoma City metropolitan area.

Contributing Editor (graduate internship May 2006–August 2006)—American Indian Horizons Magazine, the public relations newsmagazine of the Oklahoma City Indian Clinic.

Video Producer & Script Writer (2002–2005)—Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage New England Corporate Office, Waltham, Massachusetts. Wrote, directed, and produced home tours and real estate agent video resumes. Assisted in the planning for the yearly awards conference in downtown Boston.

General Assignment Reporter and Business/Marketing Manager (2000–2002)—The Scribe, a publication of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Publications

Cox, M. M., & Leshner, G. (2024). Designing social media messages to promote action by suicide gatekeepers. Archives of Suicide Research, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2024.2438211

Cox, M. M. (2024). Chapter 8: Public relations research. In Principles of Public Relations. Cognella.

Cox, M.M. (2022). Cultural continuance and agency in Cherokee biographical storytelling. Journal of Communication Inquiry. https://doi.org/10.1177/01968599221120

Cox, M. M., & Yetter, C. B. (2022). “This is so cool”: A phenomenological study on virtual reality novelty. Journal of Communication Technology, 5(1), 84-103. https://doi.org/10.51548/joctec-2022-004

Cox, M. M. (2021). Framing social posts for suicide gatekeepers through theory of planned behavior.  Southwestern Communication Journal, 36(1). https://swecjmc-ojs-txstate.tdl.org/swecjmc/index.php/swecjmc/article/view/90

Blessing, C., Comerford, F., Cox, M., Debusschere, M., Dickinson, J., Dougherty, E., & Flanders, J. (2010).  Making data meaningful part III: A guide to communicating with the media. Geneva: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

Presentations

Cox, M. M. (2025, October 17). “A Social Media Influencer’s Impact on Resilience and Authenticity: A Human and AI Thematic Analysis.” Conference presentation at the Florida Communication Association Annual Convention in Orlando, FL.

Cox, M. M., & White, J. (2025, October 4). “AI in Higher Education: Faculty and Student Perspectives on Grading Fairness and Efficiency.” Conference presentation at the Texas Speech Communication Association in Allen, TX.

Cox, M. M. (2023, March 2). “Designing Social Media Messages for Suicide Gatekeepers.” Conference presentation at the International Public Relations Research Conference in Orlando, FL.

Cox, M. M., & Wong, N.C.H. (2022, April). “Birds & Bees: Social Media Message Framing for Parents.” Conference poster presentation at the Kentucky Health Communication Conference.

Cox, M. M. (2021, March). “Cultural Continuance and Agency in Biographical Digital Storytelling: A Case Study Approach.” Virtual presentation at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Mid Winter Conference (Top Abstract Award).

Cox, M. M., & Yetter, C. B. (2021, March). “First Timers: A Phenomenological Study on Virtual Reality Novelty.” Virtual presentation at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Mid Winter Conference.

Cox, M. M. (2020, October). “Framing Social Posts for Suicide Gatekeepers through Theory of Planned Behavior.” Virtual conference presentation at the South Western Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Symposium (Top Paper Award).

Cox, M.M. (2020, March). “Media Managers and Social Media: Considering Conversational Constraints.” Conference presentation at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Midwinter Conference in Norman, OK.

Meux, A.I., Yetter, C.B., & Cox, M.M. (2020, March). “White-collar Crime Films: A Critical Cultural Approach.” Conference presentation at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Midwinter Conference in Norman, OK.

Cox, M.M. (2019, October). “Best Social Media Practices.” Oral presentation at the University of Central Oklahoma, Mass Communication Week.

Cox, M.M. (2018, October). “The Independent Writer.” Oral presentation at the University of Central Oklahoma, Mass Communication Week.

Cox, M.M. & Tardiff, A. (2017, September). “Preparing for Grad School.” Oral presentation at the University of Central Oklahoma, Mass Communication Week.

Cox, M. M. (2014, June). “Writing for Young Adults.” Oral presentation at Delta Kappa Gamma Society International Leadership Conference in Oklahoma City, OK.

Cox, M. M. (2009, May). “NCHS & the OMB Directive.” Oral presentation at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s conference on communicating statistics in Warsaw, Poland.

Cox, M. M. (2007, August). “Communitarian Theory and Health Journalism: The Feeling is Mutuality.” Poster presentation at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication National Convention in Washington, DC.

Cox, M. M. (2006, October). “Hippocrates, Democracy, and the Journalist: A New Ethical Formula for Health Reporting.” Conference presentation at the South Western Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Symposium in Baton Rouge, LA.

Grants, Scholarships, and Awards

University of Central Oklahoma, College of Liberal Arts Faculty Member of the Year, 2024

Top Abstract Award, 2021 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Mid Winter Conference.

Top Paper Award, 2020 South Western Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Symposium.

New Faculty Grant, University of Central Oklahoma, “Virtual Reality Technology Immersion: Influences on Storm Safety Purchase Intention.”

Kopenhaver Center Fellow – accepted to the workshop for new women faculty in mass communication at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Annual Convention. Workshop title: Women Faculty Moving Forward: 100 Years from Suffrage to Academic Leadership (2020)

Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication Academic Scholarship, University of Oklahoma (2020-2022)

Creative Women of Oklahoma Award for Young Adult Book, Delta Kappa Gamma Society International (2014)

Leadership Award, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2010)

Kappa Tau Alpha Top Scholar Award, University of Oklahoma (2007)

Oklahoma Scholar and Leadership Education Program selectee and participant, University of Oklahoma (2007)

Robberson Conference Presentation Travel Grant, University of Oklahoma (2006)

Chester H. Westfall Scholarship, University of Oklahoma (2006 & 2007)
Outstanding Social Science Undergraduate, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (2002)

Outstanding Communication Undergraduate, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (2002)

Student Emmy winner for Public Service Announcement, National Association of Television Arts and Sciences (2001)

Junior Ladies National Collegiate Figure Skating Champion, United States Figure Skating Association (1999)

Service

University of Central Oklahoma, Mass Communication Department, Student Retention Committee Chair (2021-2026). 

University of Central Oklahoma, Mass Communication Department, Student Recruitment Committee Chair (2023-2026). 

Mass Comm Beats editor (2023-2026), which includes information gathering and editing of the inaugural bi-monthly email newsletter for graduate students and undergraduate majors and minors in UCO’s Mass Communication program. 

Title IX Decision Maker, University of Central Oklahoma (2024-2026)

University of Central Oklahoma Faculty Senate (2025-2026)

Co-lead for planning and implementation of a podcast studio specifically for strategic communication majors, who lacked their own production and planning space (2023-2024). 

Faculty director for the inaugural Oklahoma Teen Film Festival in partnership with deadCenter Film, an Oscar-granting film festival. Directed seniors in a capstone class and independent study to research, plan, promote, implement, fund, and evaluate this now annual event. 

UCO Film Camp collaborator (2024-2025), which includes leading a committee to initiate a summer film camp for high school students in summer 2024; main duties are marketing, planning, and administrative tasks. Partnered with deadCenter to offer the camp tuition-free in 2025. 

Organizer, 21^st Century CPI workshop, AI in Grading Panel (2024).  

Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators Scholarship Coordinator (2018-2024). 

AEJMC Midwinter Conference moderator (2020, 2021, & 2024). 

University of Central Oklahoma Parking Board, Second-Level Appeals Committee member (2022-2024). 

University of Central Oklahoma, Mass Communication Department, Faculty Search Committee member (2021 & 2024). 

UCO College of Liberal Arts, Department of Mass Communication Self-Study for Continuous Improvement Committee member (2019 & 2024). 

University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) College of Liberal Arts Undergraduate Research Symposium Committee member (2020-2023). 

UCO Student Transformative Learning supervisor (2019-2020). 

Oklahoma Book Festival moderator (2019). 

Presenter, Mass Communication Week, University of Central Oklahoma (2017-2019). 

Digital Marketing Workshop facilitator, Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators Connect Meeting (2019).  

Professional Development

Google Analytics Certification (Google Academy, 2020)

eLearning Facilitation Certification Course (University of Central Oklahoma, 2018)

Student Transformative Learning Training (University of Central Oklahoma, 2018)

SEO Training for Writers (Coffey Communications, 2016)

Web Design & Development (Today’s Veterinary Practice, 2015)

Web Design and Development (National Center for Health Statistics, 2010)

Leadership Training (Combined Federal Campaign Administration, 2009)

Toastmasters International Public Speaking Training (National Center for Health Statistics, 2008–2010)