It is with a heavy heart that we share with you that one of our longstanding faculty has passed on Oct. 16. Shara Pavlow was a dedicated and active member of our School of Communication community.

Having completed her undergraduate studies with the University of Miami, she left for her Master’s in Journalism with the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. The magnetism of our school brought her back to us in 2000, when she became one of the inaugural doctoral students with our School of Communication. She earned the school’s Outstanding Doctoral Student award in 2004, having completed an impressive study of effective communication in the Miami Fire Department.

After serving as director of FAU’s Community Conversation Corps and then instructor, we were thrilled to welcome her back to our school in 2014, where she had taught and contributed thoughtfully and generously since her return. She was a founding student member of the Butler Center for Service and Leadership. Her courses in the power of dialogue, constructive conflict, social change, intergroup relations, health communication, and others were inspiring to students and to colleagues. Her sincerity and compassion were inspiring to me.

Shara practiced what she preached in terms of advocacy and community engagement. When the pandemic hit, she bought a computer for a family to enable their children to participate in their educational programs. She served on several community boards and organizations, such as the Academy for Better Communities at Barry University, Dewey Knight Health Center, District 11 Community Health Purchasing Alliance, Healthcraft Associates, along with many other health agencies. She was a certified EMT, demonstrating the comprehensive set of talents she possessed.

We have been told by her close friends that Shara cared deeply about the American Cancer Society, Hospice Foundation, and Sierra Club, the latter being the beneficiary of her leadership in backpacking treks. In honor of Shara’s own strong compassion and commitment to community, please consider doing something to benefit a community that matters to you.

Karin Gwinn Wilkins
Dean, School of Communication