A proud tradition since 1998, the annual Thomas M. Scheidel Faculty Lecture celebrates the remarkable achievements of Professor Scheidel in scholarship, teaching, and academic administration. Every year, the UW Department of Communication brings a notable speaker from outside the University to Seattle for an engaging discussion on the latest trends in the field of communication. For this year’s lecture, we were honored to host this year’s speaker Dr. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, the Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication, and the founder of FactCheck.org.
In her lecture, Dr. Jamieson drew on her extensive expertise in public discourse to address one of the defining challenges of the contemporary information environment: “Preempting or Displacing Public Misconceptions About Controversial Science.” She argued that scientific communication has too often been reactive, responding to misinformation only after it takes hold in the public consciousness. Instead, Jamieson called for a proactive shift grounded in a “mental models” approach to public engagement.
Dr. Jamieson demonstrated how utilizing well-designed visual, verbal, or animated models can systematically build a collective baseline of consequential knowledge. By giving the public intuitive structural frameworks to understand complex systems, science communicators can effectively insulate audiences against future susceptibility to misconceptions regarding highly controversial health and climate findings. It is an approach designed to create a deep-seated understanding of science that empowers individuals to naturally recognize and reject falsehoods on their own.
The lecture also exemplified a core commitment of the University of Washington Department of Communication: the belief that rigorous and creative communication design plays a vital role in advancing public welfare and safeguarding the integrity of information.
Following the presentation, our graduate and undergraduate students and members of our alumni community had the invaluable opportunity to engage directly with Dr. Jamieson during a vibrant Q&A session. The room buzzed with energy as students asked poignant questions about non-partisan public advocacy, the evolution of fact-checking, and the future of science communication.
We extend our deepest gratitude to Dr. Jamieson for a truly inspiring evening, and to everyone in the UW Communication community whose passion and curiosity continue to make the Scheidel Lecture a hallmark of academic excellence year after year.
Missed the live event or want to revisit the insights? You can watch the full 2026 Scheidel Lecture on our UW Department of Communication YouTube Channel. If you are interested in supporting the Scheidel Lecture series, you can make a donation to the Thomas M. Scheidel Annual Faculty Lecture Fund on our giving page.