In Memoriam: Professor Emeritus Chuck Berger

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.

Chuck focused on the development of theories that explain fundamental processes of human communication. He encouraged his students, colleagues, and more to think beyond the context in theoretically mechanistic ways that facilitate thorough and general understandings of human communication. As a scholar, he was prolific, influential, and respected. As a colleague, he was valuable, heuristic, and emulated. Chuck’s legacy is immense and long-lasting.

Dr. Berger’s service to the discipline he loved was prodigious, including a term as president of the International Communication Association, as chair of the Communication Department at UC Davis, and as editor of the journals Human Communication Research and Communication Research and the highly-influential Handbook of Communication Science.  He was a fellow of the International Communication Association.

Dr. Berger passed away September 25, 2018, from complications arising from cancer. He will be missed.

Chuck was memorialized by ICA here.