Communication - Faculty

Kaylie is a member of Sigma Tau Delta (International English Honors Society), Lambda Pi Eta (National Communication Association Honors Society), and the National Communication Association.

Kaylie Butler resides in Munfordville, KY with her two cats Annie and Auggie. As a faculty member, she has taught courses including public speaking, principles of communication, persuasion, and leadership. She also serves as a co-sponsor for Lambda Pi Eta (Communication Honors Society).

Kaylie’s research interests include intergroup, instructional, and persuasive communication. Throughout her studies, she focuses on Appalachian students and other marginalized groups that struggle with educational attainment. Specifically, she is interested in understanding the role of individual and group identities within the learning process and exploring the impact of such identities on classroom experiences and overall educational persistence. While this is her primary focus of study, Kaylie also enjoys media effects research and communication theory.

When she is not on campus, Kaylie enjoys spending time with her friends and family, reading random books, hunting for new coffee shops, and binge-watching TV shows and movies.

Dr. Furkin served the college in a few capacities over her time here since 2003. She began her higher education career in the Registrar's Office before moving into her Freshman Advisor role in the First Year Experience Program, which she held for 8 years. She also taught as an Adjunct Instructor for Communication during that time. In her 9th year in FYE, she served as Co-Director of the program. She accepted a faculty position in Communication in 2016. These various roles she has held at the college have provided her with a well-rounded understanding of the inner-workings of the institution, as well as a strong foundation in intentional advising and cultivating positive interactions and relationships with students.

Dr. Jennifer Furkin resides in Columbia with her husband Josh (a special education teacher in Adair County and graduate of LWC), her son Bowen, and her dog Chance. She has taught a variety of classes for the Communication program at Lindsey Wilson. She also serves as co-sponsor for the Communication Honor Society, Lambda Pi Eta. Aside from serving as a faculty member for Communication, she is the Program Coordinator for the Interdisciplinary Studies major.

Dr. Furkin's research interests are within interpersonal communication, specifically related to learning more about mothers and their communication with other mothers regarding parenting choices. She enjoys engaging with students on communication research trips where students get to critically analyze the communication processes happening all around them. In the classroom, she is motivated by thoughtful, engaging student discussions regarding communication concepts and topics.

Dr. Furkin enjoys attending various Lindsey Wilson events, spending time with family, and watching her son compete in swimming competitions.

After four years as an officer in the Navy during the Viet Nam War, Dan joined the staff of the Flint (Michigan) Journal where he specialized in health affairs and feature writing. His months-long investigation of substandard ambulance services in Genesee County led to creation of modern emergency medical systems in the Flint Fire Department and the Genesee County Sheriff's Department. These systems are still saving lives more than 30 years later. In his 10-year career at The Journal, and the Capital Bureau of Newhouse Newspapers, Dan covered everything from county courts to the state Legislature.

Following his graduate studies, he joined the Public Relations staff at General Motors corporate headquarters in Detroit, where he spent four years developing and implementing executive awareness and training programs in employee communication. From GM, he went to Weyerhaeuser Company in Tacoma, WA, where he spent four years successfully merging organizational communication with modern techniques for quality improvement and customer satisfaction.

From Weyerhaeuser, Dan worked with several communication consulting and training firms, assisting such clients as IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Morgan Stanley and Software AG, in projects that sometimes lasted two years or more.

In early 2007 Dan completed a play about famed but aging wit Dorothy Parker and her challenges teaching a college literature class in Southern California. The play was performed by the Isis Theatre Company in Idyllwild, CA, in June, 2007.

He joined the faculty at Lindsey Wilson College in the fall of 2007.

At Lindsey Wilson College, Dr. Sexton currently serves as the Dean of the School of Business and Communication and has previously served as Freshman Advisor, Director of Freshman Year Experience, Instructor of Communication, and Assistant Professor of Communication. He was awarded the LWC Student Government Association Teacher of the Year award in 2014 and 2016. He is a member of the National Communication Association, Eastern States Communication Association, National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation, Lambda Pi Et (National Communication Association Honor Society), and Sigma Tau Delta (International English Honor Society).

Dr. Sexton is a nomadic native of South Central Kentucky having lived in Monticello, Burkesville, Russell Springs, Columbia, Campbellsville, and Albany, with the greatest amount of time rooted in the latter. He now resides in Greensburg, KY, with his wife Leah and three children, Kate Elisabeth, Max Thomas, and Hayes David. He earned a bachelor's degree from Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, KY, with a double major in Communication and Christian Ministries, and was the recipient of the 2004 President's Award. While at Lindsey Wilson College, Dr. Sexton was a member of the LWC Singers, Student Ambassadors, and Students Interested in Government. Additionally, he received a scholarship to study abroad at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Dr. Sexton received his master's degree at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, with a research focus in interpersonal and organizational communication. In May 2017, Dr. Sexton completed his Ph.D. at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, where his dissertation was titled "Exploring the Influence of Students' Perceptions of Instructional Message Content Relevance and Experienced Cognitive Load on Students' Cognitive Learning." His research is concentrated at the intersection of instructional communication, interpersonal communication, educational psychology, and leadership. Dr. Sexton has presented scholarly research locally, regionally, and nationally and is a published author in several well respected academic journals. Outside of the classroom, Dr. Sexton's interests includes coaching his kids sports teams, traveling, farming, Disney, living a missional life, and empowering the powerless.