profile-default

Sarah Riforgiate

Professor
Communication
 Merrill Hall 242
Faculty & Lecturers
Curriculum Vitae

Education

PhD, Communication Studies, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
MA, Communication Studies, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
BA, Speech Communication, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, IL

Research and Teaching 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.

Courses Taught

Undergraduate Courses

Conflict Communication
Communication and Leadership
Communication Internship

Graduate Courses

Communication in Organizations                                                                                                          Proseminar: The Discipline of Communication                                                                              Qualitative Research in Communication                                                                                                      Work/Life Intersections and Communication

Selected Publications

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.
Riforgiate, S., & Lucio, W. (2019). Collective communication within LGBT leadership: Sharing the vision. Ohio Communication Journal, 57, 114-130.
Riforgiate, S., Gattoni, A. L., & Kirby, E. L. (2019). Organizing the organizational communication class: Content and pedagogical recommendations. Journal of Communication Pedagogy, 2, 7-11.