CHAMPAIGN – Dr. Dale E. Brashers, the head of the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois, died July 5, 2010, in his campus office. He was 50 years old.

He was born in Little Rock, Ark., on Dec. 29, 1959, to Lou and James (Gene) Brashers. He graduated from McClellan High School in Little Rock, Ark., in 1978. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in 1987 and 1988, respectively, from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, and earned his doctorate in 1994 from the University of Arizona.

He began his academic career in 1993 at The Ohio State University, moving to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign five years later.

At Illinois, he served as the director of graduate studies in the Department of Communication (then called speech communication) from 2002-2006, and then as associate head until January 2009, when he became head. Beginning in 2008, he also held a joint appointment as a professor of medicine.

His health communication research focused on the role of communication in the management of health and illness for persons living with HIV or AIDS. Among the goals in his research were giving patients the means for dealing with and managing uncertainty, and for developing self-advocacy skills.

Since 2008, he held a named position as the David Swanson Professorial Scholar. He was honored in 2004 as a University Scholar, a three-year research-support award for outstanding research, teaching and service. Also in 2004, he was awarded the Distinguished Article Award for the most outstanding article in the previous five years by the Health Communication Divisions of both the National Communication Association and the International Communication Association. In 2001, he received the Young Scholar Award for Outstanding Early Career Research from the ICA.

In addition to his national reputation as a researcher, he also was a highly accomplished and popular teacher of undergraduate and graduate students. In 2008, he received the Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching.

He is survived by his parents, James (Gene) and Lou Brashers; sister, Brenda Brashers Robertson; and nieces, Tasha and Marie Robertson.

A memorial service is planned for September and will take place on the UI campus.

Memorial contributions may be made to Arkansas Children's Hospital (http://www.archildrens.org/foundation/how_help/memorial_honor.asp), Tupelo Children's Mansion (http://www.mansionkids.org/donate.asp), Mental Health Center of Champaign (http://www.mhcenter.org/pages/charitablegiving.php), Greater Community Aids Project (http://www.gcapnow.com/?page_id=112), or the UI Department of Communication (http://www.communication.illinois.edu).