Assistant Professor
250 Smith Hall
Fall 2025 Office Hours:
Mon: 9:30 – 12:30
Wed: 9:30 – 12:30
Fri: 9:00 – 1:00
Office hours are times that faculty members have set aside specifically to help students. Please take advantage of these office hours if you have questions about something related to your class or are experiencing anything that is interfering with your ability to succeed in the class.
About
Zane Dayton is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Marshall University. He received his Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Kentucky and his M.A. and B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Texas. His research interests include examining how different source and message characteristics influence persuasive outcomes and investigating the cognitive processes that underly these effects. More recently, his research has investigated how a source’s accent affects persuasion, how U.S. senators’ framing of the opioid crisis affects social media engagement, and how source characteristics affect whistleblower perceptions in sororities. Although a native Texan, Zane now resides in West Virginia with his wife and daughter, along with their dog (Archer) and cat (Kiki).
Education
Ph.D. in Communication – University of Kentucky
M.A. in Communication Studies – University of North Texas
B.A. in Communication Studies – University of North Texas
Scholarly Interests
Persuasion, Interpersonal Communication, Intergroup Communication, Language, Message Design
Courses Taught
CMM 315 – Communication in Groups
CMM 673 – Seminar in Interpersonal Communication
SCLA 101 – Transformative Texts