Kristina M. Scharp Awarded Prestigious IARR Fellow Status for Outstanding Contributions to Relationship Research
The International Association for Relationship Research (IARR) has awarded Associate Professor of Communication Kristina Scharp Fellow Status. According to the IARR, Fellow Status is "awarded to IARR members who have made sustained, outstanding contributions to the field of scientific research into relationships, in the areas of research, teaching, service, and/or application."
“This recognition reflects both Kristina’s outstanding scholarship and the exceptional strength of our department. Being named by IARR is a rare honor, and having a second faculty member recognized in as many years speaks to the caliber of work our colleagues are producing," said Chair of the Communication Department and Professor Marya Doerfel.
Scharp will receive the award during the IARR 2026 Conference being held from July 8-12, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland.
“I am so honored that the International Association for Relationship Research has named me as a Fellow," Scharp said. "I am especially grateful for my mentors, colleagues, and students who have supported me throughout my career. I know I would not have achieved this without them.”
An internationally known expert on family estrangement, Scharp researches the experience of marginalization through three interrelated processes (the three “Rs”). Remaking disrupts taken-for-granted assumptions that foster inequity. Resistance challenges hegemonic structures and ideologies. Resilience illustrates the ways people cope with and respond to the major disruptions in their lives. She most often examines these three “Rs” in the contexts of relational distancing, complicated health diagnoses, and disenfranchised student populations.
Scharp has over 120 publications, for which she has received Distinguished Article Awards, Early Career Awards, and Teaching/Mentoring Awards. She chairs the Award Committee for the International Association for Relationship Research, serves on the Early Career Award Committee for the International Communication Association, and currently is the President of the Central States Communication Association. Finally, she has served as associate editor for the Journal of Social and Personal Relationship and Communication Monographs as well as editor for a special issue of the Journal of Communication.
Most recently, Scharp has co-authored two theories: the "Theory of Communicative Disenfranchisement" (TCD) and "Communicative Relational Distancing Theory" (CRDT), as well as developed a new qualitative method: "Thematic Co-Occurrence Analysis" (TCA).
She also has co-edited two books forthcoming in 2026: the "Handbook of Communication" and "Reconciliation: The Final Step in Achieving Nonviolent Social Change." Scharp said these projects collectively contribute to better understanding the process of marginalization and those groups most disenfranchised by it.
The International Association for Relationship Research (IARR) , according to the website, "is an interdisciplinary organization that strives to promote advances in the scientific study of personal and social relationships, and encourage collaboration among students, new scholars and experienced scholars. The organization has members from six of the seven continents, and sponsors two journals (Personal Relationships and Journal of Social and Personal Relationships), a newsletter ("Relationship Research News"), and a book series ("Advances in Personal Relationships) and workshops/conferences").
