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Jack J. Valenti School of Communication

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  6. Jennifer Vardeman-Winter

Faculty & Staff

 Jennifer E. Vardeman, Ph.D., is a strategic communication scholar and higher education leader whose work bridges research, practice, and student engagement. She has served as Director of the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication at the University of Houston since 2020, where she oversees more than 1,400 students and 50+ faculty and staff. In this role, she provides visionary leadership in strategic planning, fundraising, curriculum design, and industry partnerships that expand opportunities for students and elevate faculty research on a national stage.

As a researcher, Dr. Vardeman focuses on public relations in health contexts with an emphasis on women’s health and how communication strategies can build trust, improve patient experiences, and engage communities in public health initiatives. Her scholarship also examines the role of public relations practitioners in shaping industry dynamics and explores how segmentation strategies can be applied to strengthen public relations planning and outcomes. She’s published more than 35 articles and chapters on topics of public relations, public health communication, strategic segmentation, and women’s and community health. Her work has appeared in leading journals such as Journal of Applied Communication Research, Health Communication, Journal of Public Relations Research, Journal of Communication Management, Preventative Medicine, and Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions.

Dr. Vardeman is dedicated to applying her communication work across her research, teaching, and service efforts. In research, she has collaborated with medical and community partners on projects ranging from improving women’s health communication to advancing culturally responsive Alzheimer’s education in Hispanic/Latino communities. She is currently a communication lead on projects from the National Institutes of Aging and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. She also partners with Houston Methodist’s Urogynecological Associates to raise awareness around women’s health. In teaching, she has brought more than 35 separate real-world clients to manage as part of their class learning objectives. Clients typically reflect local/regional nonprofit agencies such as Legacy Community Health, Epilepsy Foundation, UH’s McGovern College of Arts, and Scouting America, among others.

Beyond academia, Dr. Vardeman has extensive professional experience in both industry, nonprofit, and government consulting. She began her career in public relations in Austin, Texas, during the Internet boom, working with global technology companies such as IBM and Motorola as well as several start-ups. She has also served as a communication consultant for the Shell Deepwater, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Baylor College of Medicine Teen Health Clinics, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where her projects have addressed strategic messaging for technical information, disaster preparedness, and community health engagement.

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Maryland at College Park, 2008
  • M.A., University of Maryland at College Park, 2005
  • B.S., University of Texas at Austin, 2000

Teaching

  • Crisis Communication
  • Issues Management
  • Public Relations Theory
  • Public Relations Management
  • Principles of Public Relations
  • Public Relations Campaigns
  • Strategic Entrepreneurial Communicatio

Selected Publications

  •  Vardeman J, Cajina-Clark J, Medina LD, Woods SP, Mullen R, John SE, Kunik M, Pressman P, Moeller S, Martinez M, Miranda MA, Stocker M, Lopez-Esquibel N, Ochoa L. "Recuerdos de Mi Abuelo": Producing Telenovelas to Engage Latinos About Alzheimer's Disease. Health Commun. 2025 Jul 31:1-6. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2025.2526810.
  • Medina, L. D., Woods, S. P., Mullen, R., John, S. E., Kunik, M. Pressman, P., Moeller, S., Martinez, M., Arroyo Miranda, M., Stocker, M., Lopez-Esquibel, N., & Vardeman, J. (2023). A boot camp translation of Alzheimer’s disease in Hispanic/Latino communities. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, 9:e12390. doi: 10.1002/trc2.12390
  • Rutledge, E., Spiers, A., Vardeman, J., Griffin, N., Nisar, T., Miur, T., & Antosh, D. (2023, Sept. 1). Educating Women about Pelvic Floor Disorders during Pregnancy from the 1st to the “4th trimester”: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Urogynecology, 29(9), 770-776. DOI: 10.1097/SPV.0000000000001341
  • Vardeman, J., Spiers, A., & Yamasaki, J. (2023). “Things Are Happening That I Don’t Understand”: A Narrative Exploration of the Chaos of Living with Pelvic Floor Disorders. Health Communication, 38(9):1887-1895. DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2022.2040168
  • Prochaska, J., Jupiter, D.C., Horel, S. A., Vardeman, J., Burdine, J. N. (2020). Rural-urban differences in estimated life expectancy associated with neighborhood-level cumulative social and environmental determinant. Preventive Medicine, 139: 106214. DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106214

 External Grants:

  • Communication Lead, Community Engagement & Stakeholder Module, “The Clinical and Translational Science award (UM1) – Center for Translational and Precision Health.” NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences / Baylor College of Medicine. $44.2M. (CoPIs Bettina Beach, University of Houston, & Fasiha Kanwal, Baylor College of Medicine). August, 2024 – July, 2029.
  • Vardeman, J., Spiers, A., Antosh, D., & Rutledge, E. (2023). "Women's Health Outreach Project." Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation. Awarded $5,000 to disseminate information about women's health risks to neighborhood clinics, particularly in Spanish-speaking communities.
  • University Researcher-Communication Lead, “A Precision Engagement Approach with Hispanics/Latinos for Alzheimer’s Disease Research: ECHAR-PE (UH2-3).” National Institute of Aging. $ $4,599,350.00. (PD, Luis Medina, University of Houston). July 2023 – June 2028.
  • University Researcher, “Boot Camp Translation of Alzheimer’s Disease and the Engaging Communities of Hispanics for Aging Research (ECHAR) Network (R24).” National Institute of Aging. $2,300,000. (PD, Luis Medina, University of Houston). January, 2020 – December, 2023.
  • Co-Investigator, “Developing a Statewide Health Impact Index for Informing Health-in-All-Policies Decision-Making at State and Local Levels.” Texas Medical Center Health Policy Institute. $94,678.00 (~$26,700 of which was awarded to UH). December, 2017 – December, 2018.
  • PI, “Ethics and Health Public Relations.” Arthur W. Page Legacy Scholar for the Arthur W. Page Center at Penn State University: $3,000. October, 2013—July, 2014.
  • PI, “Affordable Multifamily Housing Primer.” Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs: $115,000. September, 2013 – August, 2014.
  • PI, “Formative Research and Development for HIV Online Videos.” Baylor Teen Health Clinics. $34,000. August, 2013 – December, 2015.

Honors

  •  Participant. (2018-2019). Institute for Diverse Leadership in Mass Communication. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
  • Teaching Excellence Award, Valenti School of Communication, 2017.
  • Class of 2017 Member. Cougar Chair’s Leadership Academy. University of Houston.
  • Class of 2014 Member. Seventh annual Scripps Howard Academic Leadership Academy. Louisiana State University's Manship School of Mass Communication.