In Memoriam

It is with sorrow that we report the passing of Professor Emeritus and former Department Chair James J. "Jerry" Murphy.

Our colleague Dr. James J. Murphy, (Ph.D., Stanford University, 1957), Professor Emeritus at UC Davis, passed away on Christmas Eve, 2021, at the age of 98. He remained alert and intellectually engaged until just a few days before his death.  His final publication, The Oxford Handbook of Quintilian, which he co-edited, arrived exactly one week before he died.

It is with great sorrow that we report the passing of Communication Scholar Chuck Berger. A long-time member of the faculty of the Communication Department at UC Davis, Chuck played a major role in the intellectual evolution of the field. Chuck challenged the field to think beyond the norm and status quo with his provoking prose and pivotal works. He was an important thought-leader in the field of Communication. Chuck is perhaps best known for his articulation of Uncertainty Reduction Theory, which continues to have great influence in the theoretical progress of the field.