CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Dale E. Brashers, the head of the department of communication at the University of Illinois, died July 5 in his campus office. He was 50 years old.

Dale E. Brashers | University of Illinois Photo

Brashers, whose research focused on how people manage and cope with illness, joined the U. of I. faculty in 1998. He served as the director of graduate studies in the department (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.

Brashers 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 Ohio State University, moving to the U. of I. five years later.

Brashers’ 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, Brashers held a named position as the David Swanson Professorial Scholar, an honor of which he was extraordinarily proud, according to David Tewksbury, associate head of communication, since it was named after his late friend and former department head David Swanson.

Brashers 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, Brashers also was a highly accomplished and popular teacher of undergraduate and graduate students, Tewksbury said. He was listed more than a dozen times on the List of Teachers Rated as Excellent for the Urbana campus, and in 2008 he received the Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching.

Brashers 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 campus. Memorial contributions may be made to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Tupelo Children’s Mansion or the U. of I. department of communication.