D. Ray Heisey
Heisey was born in Gladwin, Michigan, and grew up in Louisville, Ohio. After attending Greenville College, Messiah College, Ohio State University, he started studying in a PhD program at Northwestern University. He taught for 8 years at Messiah College. As a professor at Kent State University, from 1966 until 1996, Heisey researched, taught and wrote about methods of communication and the differences between these in various cultures. Much of his research involved the role of rhetoric in cultural context. He also wrote and edited several books on this subject. From Fall 1975 until 1978, Heisey served as the second president of Damavand College in Tehran, Iran. Heisey taught at Peking University in Beijing, China in 1996 and 2000. He was named visiting distinguished professor of rhetoric at Hiram College for 2008. Heisey was presented with an outstanding paper award at the 1996 RIT Multiculturism, Cultural Diversity and Understanding Conference. Heisey died May 20, 2011 of thyroid cancer in Cleveland, Ohio. Heisey married Susanne (née VanValin) in 1959. He had three sons. He was a member of the Kent Presbyterian Church in Kent, Ohio starting in 1968.
Career
D. Ray Heisey (1932–2011) was emeritus professor of intercultural communication at Kent State University.