Advisory Board

Chair, ICIC Advisory Board Board Chair Zimmer Success Group Karl is licensed as a Certified Hypnotist in the State of Indiana, which has the most stringent legal requirements in the country for that profession. He specializes in Smoking Cessation and Weight Management, and Stress Relief and has worked with clients with a variety of other issues as well, including fear of flying, anger management, and more. He is a certified member of the National Guild of Hypnotists. Karl is an Accredited Senior Executive Associate of the Institute for Independent Business and founded the Zimmer Advisory Group International to better serve business owners and leaders. He also earned a certificate in Public Policy Mediation. Karl is the founder of Profit in Harmony® and RULE®. Karl is also a Reiki Master, which he pursued because of Reiki's profound contribution to his recovery from a motorcycle (dirt bike) accident in 1999.

Director, ICIC Chancellor’s Professor of English Barbara E. and Karl R. Zimmer Chair in Intercultural Communication Program Director, M.A. in TESOL uconnor@iu.edu (317) 278-2441 Office location: Cavanaugh Hall 134 Ulla Connor, Ph.D. is the Barbara E. and Karl R. Zimmer Chair in Intercultural Communication, Chancellor’s Professor of English, and Director of the International Center for Intercultural Communication at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. Dr. Connor received her B.A. and M.A. in English philology from the University of Helsinki, an M.A. in English literature from the University of Florida, an M.A. in comparative literature and Ph.D. in English linguistics from the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Connor has held academic positions at the University of Florida, University of Wisconsin, George Mason University, Georgetown University, Purdue University, and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. She has also held guest and visiting professor positions in linguistics and applied linguistics with Temple University in Japan, Lund University in Sweden, Åbo Akademi University in Finland, and Leon University in Spain. She is an elected foreign member of Societas Scientiarum Fennica (Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters). Dr. Connor has authored and co-authored 10 books and over 100 articles and book chapters, including Contrastive Rhetoric: Cross-cultural aspects of second-language writing (Cambridge U. P., 1996), and Intercultural Rhetoric in the Writing Classroom (U. of Michigan P., 2012). In her research on writing and intercultural communication, Dr. Connor combines theories and methods from both linguistics, classical rhetoric, and psychology. Results of her intercultural research have been applied in ESL and EFL, intercultural business communication, and, most recently, the language of health care among U.S. immigrant populations. This research focuses on the language use between health care providers and chronically ill patients, including patients diagnosed with addictions. She is the Chief Scientific Officer for CoMac Analytics, Inc.

Retired, IBM

Retired, Eli Lilly and Co. Joann is an HR professional with 30 years of varied experience at Eli Lilly. She joined Lilly in 1977 with a Bachelors of Science in Biology from the State University of New York. It took only 4 short years for Lilly to recognize that Joann belonged in management. Joann was named Department Head of Biosynthetic Purification at Lilly’s insulin facility. In this capacity, she managed the 24/7 production operation including a staff of over 100 technical employees. In 2007, immediately upon retiring from Lilly, Joann became a consultant with The Strategy Forums, an organization dedicated to connecting leaders in order to drive profitable growth. Joann also serves on a number of not-for-profit boards. With an Executive MBA certification from Johnson School of Business at Cornell University, Joann has the keen ability to balance employee issues with a company’s need to achieve results. Every business that interacts with Joann sees her as an unparalleled strategic partner.

Retired, Eli Lilly and Co. CEO CoMac Analytics, Inc. Robert S. Mac Neill, Jr. is the CEO of CoMac Analytics, Inc. He has had more than 30 years of progressive experience in the pharmaceutical and health service industries in the U.S. and Europe. His primary work is with Eli Lilly & Co and Areks, S.A. Mr. Mac Neill has served on the advisory board of the International Center for Intercultural Communication in the IU School of Liberal Arts and authored five health care-related articles. He earned a BA from Brown University, served in the United States Marine Corps as a helicopter pilot, and received an MBA from Harvard University.