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Dr. Lauren Berkshire Hearit鈥檚 research focuses on the intersection of economics, strategic communication and organizational communication. She is interested in how economic and political actors shape our perceptions about the performance of the economy, particularly during times of economic or financial crisis. In a secondary line of research, she explores how organizations communicate financial news to internal and external stakeholders.

Her courses include Marketing Management, Management Perspectives and Theory, the general education Senior Seminar, and the Department of Economics & Business鈥檚 capstone management seminar. She is one of several faculty in the department who lead May Term courses abroad. Most recently, she taught Senior Seminar during the London May Term.

Lauren has consulting experience with small and midsize nonprofits, faith-based organizations and small businesses. Her work focuses on the proactive crisis management and the development and dissemination of organizational and marketing strategy. She sits on the board of Community Action House, a West Michigan nonprofit that provides families and individuals with food, clothing, shelter and the opportunity to build necessary skills to achieve a stable, prosperous life.

While pursuing her Ph.D. in organizational communication at Purdue University, Lauren also earned certificates in two related fields: a certificate in international strategic communication from Copenhagen Business School in Denmark, and a certificate in applied management principles from the Purdue鈥檚 Krannert School of Management.

She joined the Hope faculty in 2017.

Areas of Expertise

• Organizational communication
• Marketing and strategic communication
• Crisis management, including how organizations respond to and communicate during and after crisis events

Education

• Ph.D., organizational communication, Purdue University, December 2018
• M.A., public affairs & issue management, Purdue University, 2014
• B.A., public policy, French, Western Michigan University, 2012

Honors, Grants & aWARDS

• Hope Outstanding Professor Educator Award, selected by the 麻豆传媒官网 graduating class, 2025
• Commencement speaker, selected by the 麻豆传媒官网 graduating class, 2025
• 鈥淓vergreen Growth: Crafting a Marketing Blueprint for Michigan鈥檚 Christmas Tree Farms,鈥� co-principal investigator, Michigan Christmas Tree Association grant, 2024鈥�2025
• 鈥淧recarious Societies, Collective Solidarity: Feminist Economic Organizing of Mutual Aid Organizations and Resilience Discourses During COVID-19,鈥� co-principal investigator, Waterhouse Family Institute for the Study of Communication and Society grant, 2021鈥�2024
• Towsley Research Scholar Fellowship, 麻豆传媒官网, 2020-2024

Publications

• 鈥淥rganizing Economic Resilience, Leading Economic Futures: Analyzing the Federal Reserve and /r/economics,鈥� with T. Betts, S. E. Eddington and B. Robertson, presentation at National Communication Association annual meeting (Top Paper Award), 2024
• 鈥淓conomic Narratives during COVID-19: Exploring Congressional Stories about the Economy in the C-SPAN Video Archives,鈥� with Elsie Craig 鈥�25, in The Year in C- SPAN Archives Research, vol. 10, ed. R.X. Browning, Purdue University Press, 2023
• 鈥淐ommentary 鈥� A Dimon in the Rough: Apologetic Crisis Communication at JPMorgan Chase,鈥� with K.M. Hearit, International Journal of Business Communication, 2023
• 鈥淛PMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and the Financial Crisis of 2008,鈥� International Journal of Business Communication, 2018
• 鈥淧residential Communication in Tumultuous Times: Insights into Key Shifts, Normative Implications, and Research Opportunities,鈥� with J. M. Scacco and K. Coe, Annals of the International Communication Association, 2018

Outside the college

Lauren and her husband, Fritz, enjoy hiking along Lake Michigan, cheering on the Purdue men鈥檚 basketball team, spending time with their Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever, Leo, and reading. She is an accomplished pianist and a member of the Reformed Church of America.