Sarah Riforgiate

Professor, Communication
MA Program Director

Education

PhD, Communication Studies, Arizona State University
MA, Communication Studies, Arizona State University
BA, Speech Communication, University of Illinois

Teaching Schedule

Course Num	Title	Meets
COMMUN 310-201	Communication in Organizations	No Meeting Pattern
COMMUN 363-201	Communication in Human Conflict	No Meeting Pattern

Courses Taught

Conflict Communication
Communication and Leadership
Communication Internship
Communication in Organizations
Proseminar: The Discipline of Communication
Qualitative Research in Communication
Work/Life Intersections and Communication
Organizational Communication and Emotions

Research Interests

Dr. Riforgiate’s research concentrates on the intersections of organizational and interpersonal communication, particularly in regards to public paid work and private life in order to increase understanding and develop practical solutions to improve interactions. Research project topics include communication pertaining to work-life concerns, emotions in organizations, conflict negotiation, organizational leadership, and policy communication.

Selected Publications

Riforgiate, S. E., Ruh, C., Ibiwoye, C., Zinia, J. F., & Nartey, G. M. (2025). Mentoring in and Across Work Organizations. Encyclopedia, 5(4), 169. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia5040169

Godager, E., & Riforgiate, S. E. (2025). Workplace resocialization after parental leave as a site of work/life paradox in three boundary-setting contexts. Behavioral Sciences, 15(9), 124. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15901224

Shin, I., Riforgiate, S. E., Godager, E. A., & Coker, M. C. (2025). Remote worker communication technology use related to role clarity, coworker support, and work overload, Sustainability, 17(7), 2830.

Mills, M. J., Simmons, M. J., Howes, S. S., Riforgiate, S. E., & Braun, M. T. (2024). Time after time: Optimizing individuals’ experience of work through leaders’ facilitation of employee flow. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1–18.

Coker, M. C., & Riforgiate, S. E. (2023). Organizing emotions throughout disenfranchised grief: Virtual support group sensemaking through emotion discourses. Sustainability, 15(10), 8012.

Shin, I., Riforgiate, S. E., Coker, M. C., & Godager, E. (2023). Communication technology and supportive communication to navigate work-life conflict during COVID-19 and beyond. Management Communication Quarterly, 37(3), 686-707.

Riforgiate, S., & Tracy, S. J. (2023). Management, organizational communication and emotion. Handbook on language and emotion. De Gruyer Mouton.

Fuller, S. A., & Riforgiate, S. E. (2023). Ink, industry, and image: Communication of tattoo policies by human resource professionals. Kentucky Journal of Communication, 41(1), 100-122.

Riforgiate, S. (2022). Graduate student socialization: Getting somewhere. Communication Education, 1(1), 71-74.

Riforgiate, S. E., Howes, S., & Simmons, M. (2022). The impact of daily emotional labor on health and well-being. Management Communication Quarterly, 36(3), 391-417.

Riforgiate, S., & Madson, A. L. (2022). “Who can I trust?”: Mental health organizational assimilation and communication privacy management. Cases on Organizational Communication and Understanding Understudied Groups, 1-25. IGI Global.

Riforgiate, S. E., Gattoni, A., & Kane, S. (2022). Graduate Teaching Assistants’ Liminality and Post-COVID Educational Legacy. COVID and Higher Education: Teaching and Learning, 33-50. Lexington Books.

Riforgiate, S. E., & Sepulveda, S. (2021). Managing and being managed by emotions. Handbook of Management Communication, 511-528. De Gruyter Mouton.

Riforgiate, S. E., & Kramer, M. W. (2021). The Nonprofit Assimilation Process and Work-Life Balance. Sustainability, 13(11), 5993.

Riforgiate, S., Gattoni, A., & Kahlow, J. (2021). “Shhhhh, I’m working!”: Working from home and struggling to manage relationships. Casing Mediated Communication. Kendall Hunt.

Norval, S., & Riforgiate, S. E. (2020). "They saved my life!": Exploring alternative communication frameworks for mental health. Health: History, concepts, & perspectives, 81-100. Lexington.

Ruder, E. M., & Riforgiate, S. (2019). Organizational socialization of millennial nonprofit workers. Examining Millennials Reshaping Organizational Cultures, 33-50. Lexington.

Carnes, R., & Riforgiate, S. (2019). Female Peace Corps leaders’ fight for community mobilization: One billion rising against gender-based violence. Sage.

Riforgiate, S., & Carnes, R. (2019). Balancing on a tightrope: Making decisions in dual-career couples. Case studies in organizational communication: A life-span approach, 141-146. Oxford Press.

Riforgiate, S., & Turner, L. H. (2019). Don’t mention the office: Workplace bullying spillover at home. Going behind closed doors: Case studies in family communication, 209-219. Kendall Hunt.