Meet New International Faculty

Dr. Adebanke L. Adebayo Assistant Professor, Communication Studies

Dr. Adebanke Adebayo earned her BA in English Studies from Babcock University–Nigeria, her MA degrees in English and Applied Communication Studies both from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, and her Ph.D. in Communication from George Mason University, Virginia. Her research interest is in international health and risk communication related to maternal and neonatal health, social epidemiology, community engagement, intercultural health, and global health equity. She also conducts instructional communication research because she believes in enhancing teaching and learning through translational research. She enjoys teaching and is genuinely invested in the success and well-being of her students. She is currently researching and actively raising awareness about the adverse effects of climate change on maternal and neonatal health in developing West African nations.

Dr. Yang Song Assistant Professor, Kinesiology

Dr Yang Song graduated from West Virginia University (WVU) with a Teaching and Coaching Ph.D. degree. Before earning the degree from WVU, Dr. Song also earned a master’s and an undergraduate degree in Physical Education Teacher Education from Shanghai University of Sports, Shanghai, China. Dr. Song had taught in higher education for five years (two years with Lane College, Jackson, TN, and three years with Delta State University, Cleveland, MS) before he joined the Washburn family. As a professional, Dr. Song strives for teaching excellence and likes to integrate technology into his teaching. During his lecture, you will see him engage students actively by asking students to answer questions and participate in discussions. Dr. Song’s research interests involve promoting students’ physical activity levels, motivations for exercise, and students’ health behaviors. Dr. Song lives with his family in America (wife, son, and daughter). All of his other family members reside in mainland China. Both children attend Elmont Elementary, where they are having a great time. Everyone in Song’s family loves the city of Topeka, where they have access to an Asian grocery store and a Chinese school in Lawrence, opportunities that Song’s family previously had no easy access to. Dr. Song advocates active lifestyles, is an avid tennis player, swimmer, and basketball player, and teaches his children how to play sports. Besides sports, he watches TV news every day and never gets tired of fixing everything around the house, ranging from oversized items such as cars to small items such as kids’ broken toys.