Vinita Agarwal is an Assistant Professor of Communication at the Department of Communication Arts in Salisbury University, Maryland, USA. She earned her Ph.D. in Communication with a focus on Media, Technology, and Society in 2009 from Purdue University and joined the faculty of Salisbury University in Fall, 2010.

Professor Agarwal's teaching interests focus on public relations, strategic communication, and research methods. To read about her teaching experiences, syllabi, and courses taught, click here.

 Dr. Agarwal's research interests lie in the area of strategic risk communication. In this area, her focus is on understanding the role of affective-and cognitive factors in promoting preventive health behaviors in individuals through strategic message design in risk communication by organizations and providers.

In particular, her recent research seeks to understand how an individual's health-related risk perceptions can influence corresponding preventive behaviors by investigating the contribution of factors such as strategic communication of absolute-and comparative risk information in risk communication messages or risk representation in the media.

To read some of her earlier research, click here.

Visit the CMAT Faculty Webpage