Margaret J. Pitts

Maggie Pitts (PhD, Penn State, 2005) is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Arizona. Maggie employs qualitative research methods to explore positive communication in contexts such as interpersonal communication, intercultural communication, and communication and aging. Positive communication refers to communication behaviors and practices that enhance personal and relational wellbeing and contribute to human flourishing (like communication savoring!). Maggie is one of the co-founders of the Positive Communication Network. Positive Communication Scholarship (1) is rigorous scientific inquiry into the nature of communication excellence, (2) focuses on both process and outcomes and is designed to generate new knowledge, (3) takes an affirmative stance, and (4) cultivates communication praxis.  Toward this end, Maggie is finishing an edited book, the Handbook of Positive Communication and Aging to be published by Elgar Publishing. She serves on the editorial board for the Palgrave Studies in Positive Communication. She has also collaborated with graduate students to publish multiple chapters centering positive communication in Socha’s (Ed) Palgrave Handbook of Positive Communication for a Livable Future (Palgrave, 2026) and a volume she recently co-edited with colleagues entitled Health Communication, Language, and Social Action Across the Life Span (Peter Lang, 2024) 

Maggie uses principles of positive communication in her research and mentoring of graduate students. Under Maggie’s direction, the Communication Savoring Research Team will continue their research on savoring and grief communication in the 2026-2027 academic year – a project sponsored by the Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Institute. 

Maggie capitalizes on leadership opportunities to help create networks of support for students and scholars. She served as Senior Associate Dean of the Graduate College at the University of Arizona from July 2019-June 2025. Maggie was honored with the Radiance Award from the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management in 2025 for Professionals who Shine. The radiance award recognizes a University of Arizona employee who goes the extra mile to deliver outstanding service. In 2023, Maggie was recognized by the UA Office Research, Innovation, and Impact as Woman of Impact due in part to her leadership and innovation in graduate education across the University. Maggie is Fellow and Past President of the International Association of Language and Social Psychology. In 2026, she hosted the 19^th International Conference on Language and Social Psychology in Tucson. She has served in leadership roles in divisions and interest groups for both the National Communication Association and International Communication Association.

With 60+ publications including edited books, peer-reviewed articles, and chapters, Maggie has an established program of research that examines communication within interpersonal and intercultural contexts especially during times of transition. Currently, she is developing the Grounded Model of Communication Savoring through a series of grounded/qualitative and empirical/experimental research with her graduate student team. 

Maggie teaches undergraduate courses in positive communication, communication theory, interpersonal communication, and intercultural communication at the University of Arizona. She gives graduate seminars in qualitative research methods, interpersonal communication theory, and theories of intergroup and intercultural communication. 

Dr. Pitts will be accepting graduate students for Fall 2027. 

Areas of Study

• Positive Communication
• Aging and Communication
• Interpersonal Communication 
• Intercultural Communication
• Language and Social Psychology

Selected Edited Books, Articles, & Chapters 

^s indicates collaborator was a graduate student at the time of research 

BOOKS

Pitts, M. J. (Ed). (under contract). Handbook of positive aging. Edward Elgar Publishing. Expected publication 2027.

Worthington, A. K., Fisher, C. L., Krieger, J., Fowler, C., Pitts, M. J., & Nussbaum, J. F. (Eds.) (2024). Health communication, language, and social action across the life span. New York, NY: Peter Lang. https://doi.org/10.3726/b21965 

Pitts, M. J., & Socha, T. (Eds.) (2013). Positive communication in health and wellness. New York, NY: Peter Lang. 

Socha, T. J., & Pitts, M. J. (Eds.) (2012). The positive side of interpersonal communication. New York, NY: Peter Lang. 

ARTICLES & CHAPTERS

Beck, G., ^sFanari, A., ^sCooper, A., & Pitts, M. J. (2026). Bolstering military couple relational resilience through savoring: Applying the theory of resilience and relational load. Journal of Family Communication, 26(1), 61-79. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2025.2592577

Pitts, M. J. (2025). Introducing a positive communication ontology to advance intercultural theorizing. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 54(5), 335-350. https://doi.org/10.1080/17475759.2025.2528645

^sKim, S., Pitts, M. J., & Harwood, J. (2025). The role of social network sites (SNS) affordances in international students’ identity gap management during cross-cultural adjustment. Journal of International & Intercultural Communication, 18(4), 405-425. https://doi.org/10.1080/17513057.2025.2530579

Gasiorek, J., Pitts, M. J., & Dragojevic, M. (2025). Spanish-English code-mixing in U.S. higher education: Testing the use of “Spanglish” in university materials at a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 44(2), 224-237.  https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X251314864

Pitts, M. J. (2024). Positive communication as social action: Compassion and communication savoring. In A. K. Worthington, J. L. Krieger, C. L. Fisher, C. Fowler, M. J. Pitts, & J. F. Nussbaum (Eds.), Health communication, language, and social action across the life span (pp. 3-23). Peter Lang. 

Pitts, M. J., ^sFanari, A., ^sCooper, R. A., Jiao, J., & Kim, S. (2023). The grounded model of communication savoring: Theory development and age cohort study. The American Journal of Qualitative Research, 7(3), 139-159. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/13399 

^sFanari, A., ^sCooper, R. A., ^sDajches, L., Beck, G., & Pitts, M. J. (2023). Transferable resilience practices: Communication and resilience of U.S. military spouses during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Family Communication, 23(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2022.2149528 

^sCooper, R. A., & Pitts, M. J. (2022). Caregiving spouses’ experiences of relational uncertainty and partner influence in the prolonged relational transition of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 39(5), 1434-1459. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075211058084 

^sCooper, R. A., Pitts, M. J., & Harwood, J. (2022). “That’s when the relationship shifted”: Relational and communicative turning points in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Personal Relationships, 29, 217-235. DOI: 10.1111/pere.12412 

^sJiao, J., ^sKim, S., & Pitts, M. J. (2021). Promoting subjective well-being through communication savoring. Communication Quarterly, 69 (2), 152-171. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2021.1901758 

Pitts, M. J. (2019). The language and social psychology of savoring: Advancing the communication savoring model. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 38(2), 237-259. DOI: 10.1177/0261927X18821404 

Pitts, M. J., & Brooks, C. (2016). Critical pedagogy, internationalisation, and a third space: Cultural tensions revealed in students’ discourse. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 38, 251-267. DOI: 10.1080/01434632.2015.1134553  

Pitts, M. J. (2016). Sojourner reentry: A grounded elaboration of the integrative theory of communication and cross-cultural adaptation. Communication Monographs, 83, 419-445. DOI: 10.1080/03637751.2015.1128557.