Margaret J Pitts

Biography

Maggie Pitts (PhD, Penn State) is Senior Associate Dean, Academic Affairs, of the Graduate College and Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Arizona. As Associate Dean, Dr. Pitts oversees graduate program development, graduate policies and procedures, graduate admissions, and graduate student academic progress through degree completion. In this role, Dr. Pitts is an advocate for graduate students and graduate education. She is especially interested in the promotion of graduate diversity, integrity, and interdisciplinarity and cultivating opportunities for graduate students to thrive. Prior to serving as Associate Dean, Dr. Pitts was Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Communication where she continues to teach, mentor, and advise doctoral and master’s students. With more than 50 scholarly publications, she has an active line of research in the areas of interpersonal and intercultural communication where she approaches the study of human interactions from a positive social scientific lens. Currently, with the help of her doctoral students, she is building a grounded theoretical model of communication savoring. 

Degrees

• Ph.D. Communication
• The Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States
• The Role of Communication in Cross-National Adjustment and Identity Transitions among Student Sojourners
• M.A. Communication
• The Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, United States
• Cultural Identity and Patterns of Social Support among United States American Students Abroad
• B.A. Communication
• Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States
• B.A. French
• Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States

Awards

• Top Paper Award
• Intercultural Communication Interest Group of the Central States Communication Association, Spring 2026
• Digital Borderlands in the Classroom Fellowship
• University of Arizona Libraries, Summer 2025
• Radiance Award
• University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management, Spring 2025
• Journal of Family Communication 2023 Article of the Year Award
• Journal of Family Communication, Fall 2024
• Fellow of the International Association of Language and Social Psychology
• International Association of Language and Social Psychology, Summer 2024
• Woman of Impact
• University of Arizona Office of Research, Innovation, and Impact, Fall 2023
• Women of Impact
• The University of Arizona Office of Research, Innovation & Impact, Fall 2023