Nichola D. Gutgold is associate professor of communication at Pennsylvania State University, Lehigh Valley Campus where she teaches a variety of communication courses, including the First Year Engagement Communication Course. She represents the College of Communications, advises for the student newspaper, and engages in research.

Her books include: Almost Madam President: Why Hillary Clinton ‘won’ in 2008 (Lexington Books, June, 2009), Seen and Heard: The Women of Television News, (Lexington Books, 2008), and Paving the Way for Madam President (Lexington Books, 2006). With Molly Wertheimer she co-authored, Elizabeth Hanford Dole: Speaking from the Heart (Praeger Press, 2004).

Nichola Gutgold is author of numerous scholarly articles both on rhetoric and pedagogy and she particularly enjoys adapting the introductory speech course to stay current with the digital age. She has received several campus awards, including the Teaching Excellence Award, Research Achievement Award and Advising Excellence Award. In 2009 she was awarded the Pennsylvania Communication Association Donald Ecroyd Research and Scholarship Award.

Dr. Gutgold served as a visiting scholar at California State University –Chico where she spoke about her research on women’s communication styles in male dominated fields. Believing that the communication discipline needs more exposure, she enjoys responding to press inquiries and appears as often as possible in print and electronic media, sharing her research as it is relevant to current news events.

She graduated with honors at age 20 with a double major in mass communications and English in 1984 from King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, PA, and in 1988 earned a master’s degree in speech communication from Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, PA. In 1999 she earned a Ph.D. in speech communication from Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Gutgold is a member of the National Communication Association, Eastern Communication Association and President of the Pennsylvania Communication Association. She serves on the Board of Directors of LifePath, a social service agency in Eastern Pennsylvania that serves the mentally and physically challenged.