Melonçon takes the helm as founding chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies

After a national search, Lisa Melonçon has been selected as the founding chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS). Melonçon, an expert in technical communication and professional writing, joins Clemson from the University of South Florida, where she served as a professor and interim chair of the Department of English.

“Current problems and challenges that we face as a community, nation and world cannot be met and solved without bringing diverse viewpoints and knowledges together in intentional ways,” Melonçon said. “IDS brings value because it shows students how to do that work, how to take different approaches and then leverage those differences in meaningful ways.”

A new department

The Department of Interdisciplinary Studies was launched at the start of the 2023-2024 academic year in the College of Arts and Humanities. The department united the existing Bachelor of Arts programs in Global Black Studies, Women’s Leadership and World Cinema along with the Ph.D. in Rhetorics, Communication and Information Design (RCID). The department is also home to the new Professional Communication and Information Design (PCID) program, which serves as a hub for technical and business writing courses across the University.

“I am thrilled that Dr. Melonçon will be joining us. She brings a skillset and a way of thinking that is tailor-made for our new department, and made her stand out amongst a field of exceptional candidates.I just know that she will set the department on a course to flourish, and I am delighted to welcome her to Clemson.

NICHOLAS VAZSONYI, FOUNDING DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES

Melonçon noted that during her first year as chair, she would work with faculty to develop a distinct vision of the department’s future. She added that the department would be “the home of innovative thinking and diverse viewpoints” as well as a hub for new programs, research and learning partnerships. She pointed to the department’s people as its greatest strength.

“What impressed the most was the passion and energy of the faculty, staff and students for the idea of interdisciplinarity,” she said. “They have embraced the concept and are building ideas and events that show the power of what interdisciplinary thinking can do for education and research.”

An accomplished researcher

While at the University of South Florida,  Melonçon won multiple accolades for her research, including the Faculty Outstanding Research Award (2023), the Kitty Locker Research Award from the Association of Business Communication (2022) and the Ken Rainey Research Award from the Society of Technical Communication (2022). She is also an Associate Fellow of the Society of Technical Communication. She is the author of five peer-reviewed books, the most recent of which is Strategic Interventions in Mental Health Rhetoric (Routledge, 2022). She is the managing editor of the journal Rhetoric of Health and Medicine (University of Florida Press), and she serves as editor of the book series, “Foundations and Innovations in Technical and Professional Communication” (Colorado State University Press).

She is a founder of the sub-field of the rhetoric of health and medicine, and her research also centers on programmatic issues in technical and professional communication, research methodologies and user experience.

Her new role marks a return to the Carolinas for Melonçon. She holds a Ph.D. in English: Rhetoric and Composition from the University of South Carolina as well as an M.A. and B.A. in English from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

“I was delighted at the opportunity to get back to South Carolina, the foothills, and a more rural, community-focused way of life,” she said.