Dr. Emily J. Plec is professor and chair of the Department of Communication Studies at Western Oregon University, and began her term on the State Board of Higher Education on December 1, 2011. She has been a faculty member and professor at WOU since 2002 in Speech Communication and Communication Studies, and is also a faculty member in Film Studies and Environmental Studies. While at Western, she has held leadership positions with the WOU Federation of Teachers, including president; is a member of the Program for Undergraduate Research Experiences; and has been an advisory board member of the Center for Teaching and Learning, among many other roles. Prior to joining WOU, Dr. Plec was a graduate fellow and adjunct instructor in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah from 1998 to 2002; was an adjunct instructor in the Division of Communication, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the Albuquerque Technical & Vocational Institute in 1998; and was a graduate teaching assistant and adjunct instructor in the Department of Communications and Journalism at the University of New Mexico from 1996-1998. She earned a B.A. in Religious Studies and Peace Studies and an M.A. in Communication and Journalism from the University of New Mexico; and a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Utah.

Her term expires in 2013.