« Back to: Faculty List
Caron Chess, Ph.D., Professor Emerita
Biography: Caron Chess studied risk communication and public involvement in environmental issues. Her research, which spanned issues from watershed management to bioterrorism, explored the factors that facilitate or impede participatory processes. Her experience in government, observing how organizational problems derailed well-intentioned communication, prompted her to study the relationship between organizational issues and risk communication, which is her primary research interest.
Caron served as President of the Society for Risk Analysis and serves of the editorial board of Risk Analysis as well as the boards of three other journals: Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture, Applied Environmental Education and Communication: An International Journal and Human Ecology Review. In addition, she was a member of the National Academy of Sciences' (NAS) Committee on Risk Characterization, which was responsible for the seminal 1996 report Understanding Risk: Informing Decisions in a Democratic Society. She also served on the NAS committee responsible for Public Participation in Environmental Assessment and Decision making.
In addition to peer-reviewed publications in academic journals, she has written guidance materials that are used widely by government and industry practitioners including "Communicating with the Public: Ten Questions Environmental Managers Should Ask" (which was named # 1 on Society for Risk Analysis' must-read list) and a manual for industry (which was named #2).
Caron served as curriculum coordinator and teaches classes in environmental communication, including one about podcasting.
Prior to joining academia in 1987, Caron held positions in the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and non-profit environmental advocacy organizations.
Biography |
Current Research |
Selected Publications |
Teaching/Taught
Selected Publications
- Chess, C. and B. Johnson (2009). Risk communication and Organizations. In ed. Heath, R. Handbook of risk and crisis communication. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Clarke, L. & Chess, C.(2008) Elites and Panic: more to fear than fear itself, Social Forces 87 (2), 993-1014.
- Chess, C. & Clarke, L. (2007) Facilitation of risk communication during the anthrax attacks of 2001: The organizational backstory. American Journal of Public Health, 97 (9) 1578-1582.
- O'Neill, K., Calia, J., Chess, C., & Clarke, L. (2007) Miscommunication during the anthrax attacks: How events reveal organizational failures. Human Ecology Review, 14 (2), 119-129.
- Chess, C & Johnson, B. (2007). Information is not enough. In S. Moser, & L. Dillon (Eds.), Creating a climate for change: Communicating climate change and facilitating social change (223-237). New York and Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press
- Johnson, B.B., & Chess, C. (2006). From the inside out: environmental agency views about communications with the public. Risk Analysis, 26(5), 1395–1407.
- Chess, C. & Johnson, B.B. (2006). Organizational learning about public participation: "Tiggers" and "Eeyores." Human Ecology Review, 13(2), 182-192.
- Clarke, C.E. & Chess, C. (2006). False alarms, real challenges-one university's
communication response to the 2001 anthrax crisis. Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science, 4 (1), 74-83. - Clarke, L., Chess, C., Holmes, R., & O'Neill, K. (2006). Speaking with one voice: risk communication lessons from the US anthrax attacks. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 14(3), 160-169.
- Chess, C., Burger, J., & McDermott, M.H. (2005). Speaking like a state: communication about fish advisories. Society and Natural Resources, 18 (3), 267-278.
- Burger, J., McDermott, M.H., Perez-Lugo, M., Bochenek, E., & Chess, C. (2003). Evaluating risk communication about fish consumption advisories: a brochure versus classroom lesson in Spanish and English. Risk Analysis, 23(4), 791-803.
Biography |
Current Research |
Selected Publications |
Teaching/Taught
Teaching/Taught
Fall 2012
11:374:280 Careers in EPIB (3 credits)
Spring 2012
11:374:325 Environmental Communication (3 credits)
Fall 2011
11:374:325 Environmental Communication (3 credits)
11:374:280 Careers in EPIB (3 credits)
Spring 2010
11:374:493 Environmental Communication Clinic (3 credits)
Spring 2006
11:374:433 Deliberative Processes in Environmental Policy (4 credits)
Faculty Emeriti
« Back to: Faculty List
Caron Chess, Ph.D., Professor Emerita
Biography: Caron Chess studied risk communication and public involvement in environmental issues. Her research, which spanned issues from watershed management to bioterrorism, explored the factors that facilitate or impede participatory processes. Her experience in government, observing how organizational problems derailed well-intentioned communication, prompted her to study the relationship between organizational issues and risk communication, which is her primary research interest.
Caron served as President of the Society for Risk Analysis and serves of the editorial board of Risk Analysis as well as the boards of three other journals: Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture, Applied Environmental Education and Communication: An International Journal and Human Ecology Review. In addition, she was a member of the National Academy of Sciences' (NAS) Committee on Risk Characterization, which was responsible for the seminal 1996 report Understanding Risk: Informing Decisions in a Democratic Society. She also served on the NAS committee responsible for Public Participation in Environmental Assessment and Decision making.
In addition to peer-reviewed publications in academic journals, she has written guidance materials that are used widely by government and industry practitioners including "Communicating with the Public: Ten Questions Environmental Managers Should Ask" (which was named # 1 on Society for Risk Analysis' must-read list) and a manual for industry (which was named #2).
Caron served as curriculum coordinator and teaches classes in environmental communication, including one about podcasting.
Prior to joining academia in 1987, Caron held positions in the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and non-profit environmental advocacy organizations.
Biography |
Current Research |
Selected Publications |
Teaching/Taught
Selected Publications
- Chess, C. and B. Johnson (2009). Risk communication and Organizations. In ed. Heath, R. Handbook of risk and crisis communication. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Clarke, L. & Chess, C.(2008) Elites and Panic: more to fear than fear itself, Social Forces 87 (2), 993-1014.
- Chess, C. & Clarke, L. (2007) Facilitation of risk communication during the anthrax attacks of 2001: The organizational backstory. American Journal of Public Health, 97 (9) 1578-1582.
- O'Neill, K., Calia, J., Chess, C., & Clarke, L. (2007) Miscommunication during the anthrax attacks: How events reveal organizational failures. Human Ecology Review, 14 (2), 119-129.
- Chess, C & Johnson, B. (2007). Information is not enough. In S. Moser, & L. Dillon (Eds.), Creating a climate for change: Communicating climate change and facilitating social change (223-237). New York and Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press
- Johnson, B.B., & Chess, C. (2006). From the inside out: environmental agency views about communications with the public. Risk Analysis, 26(5), 1395–1407.
- Chess, C. & Johnson, B.B. (2006). Organizational learning about public participation: "Tiggers" and "Eeyores." Human Ecology Review, 13(2), 182-192.
- Clarke, C.E. & Chess, C. (2006). False alarms, real challenges-one university's
communication response to the 2001 anthrax crisis. Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science, 4 (1), 74-83. - Clarke, L., Chess, C., Holmes, R., & O'Neill, K. (2006). Speaking with one voice: risk communication lessons from the US anthrax attacks. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 14(3), 160-169.
- Chess, C., Burger, J., & McDermott, M.H. (2005). Speaking like a state: communication about fish advisories. Society and Natural Resources, 18 (3), 267-278.
- Burger, J., McDermott, M.H., Perez-Lugo, M., Bochenek, E., & Chess, C. (2003). Evaluating risk communication about fish consumption advisories: a brochure versus classroom lesson in Spanish and English. Risk Analysis, 23(4), 791-803.