Dr. Pauline Hoffmann, an associate professor in the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University, is one of six dynamic researchers selected as a 2023-24 Richard P. Nathan Public Policy Fellow by the Rockefeller Institute of Government.

During the next year, these experts will partner with Rockefeller Institute researchers to examine timely public policy issues in higher education, public health, drug policy, and local government. The prestigious fellowship program is named after former longtime Rockefeller Institute Director Richard P. Nathan. The fellowship seeks to connect cutting-edge policy expertise to public problems and the policy community that tries to address these problems.

As part of her fellowship, Hoffmann will study and work with people in rural communities to understand how to develop messaging to counteract the infodemic (pandemic of disinformation) of health-related messages.

In addition to teaching in the leadership and communications programs at St. Bonaventure, Hoffmann is a New York state senior public health fellow with the Cattaraugus County Health Department and an entrepreneur. She owns Data Doyenne, for the data nerd and the data nervous. As part of Data Doyenne, she has a LinkedIn newsletter and a podcast titled, “WTF? (What the Facts?),” which delves into all things misinformation and disinformation. She also has a nonacademic book dealing with the infodemic to be published in May 2024.

Hoffmann received her doctorate and master’s degrees in communication from the University at Buffalo and her bachelor of science in biology from St. Bonaventure. Additionally, she completed the World Health Organization’s Infodemic Manager Training Program. Her research and teaching focus is on infodemics, conflict management, conflict resolution, and corporate communication and strategy.

Hoffmann is a former dean of the Jandoli School of Communication and School of Graduate Studies at St. Bonaventure. Before going into academia, she worked in creative services for Catholic Health.

Her role as a senior health fellow includes strategic and communication planning.

______________

About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. St. Bonaventure was named the #5 regional university value in the North in U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 college rankings edition.