2021-College-Report

department of communication studies Communication Studies examines the creation, expression, exchange, and analysis of meaning in personal, professional, and public life. In-depth study of communication equips graduates with versatile and relevant social intelligence to achieve professional, civic, and personal goals. The undergraduate degree offers concentrations in Persuasion, Advocacy, and Civic Engagement, Professional and Organizational Advancement, and Relationship Management and Well-being as well as Teacher Certification. The department offers three interdisciplinary minors: Leadership, Political Communication, and Health Communication. The graduate degree (MA) offers research emphases in Health Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Organizational Communication, Persuasion and Political Communication, Rhetorical Studies, as well as Training and Development. RECENT ACCOLADES • Outstanding/Innovative Master’s Degree Program Award, Master’s Education Section of National Communication Association (2018) • M.A. program ranked in the TOP 20 OR HIGHER in terms of number of times published research is cited (#17) , average citations per faculty member (#20) , and average citations per faculty post Ph.D. (#14) • 2 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS in Forensics and Debate • Overall WINNER OF 22 OF THE LAST 24 Texas Intercollegiate Forensics Association tournaments • Recent faculty awards for online teaching, distinguished professor, distinguished article of the year in instructional communication, dissertation of the year in health communication, top 20 most read articles in interdisciplinary journals, Presidential Award for Teaching (x2) and Presidential Award for Service (x2) • TWO FACULTY HAVE BEEN ELECTED TO BE PRESIDENT of the largest communication association in the US, the National Communication Association • Department hosted TEDxTexasStateUniversity for the 5th time in spring 2021 • Master’s students regularly present at national conferences and publish peer-reviewed articles, WINNING 3 TOP PAPER AWARDS • Nearly 100% of master’s students pursuing a Ph.D. are accepted to top doctoral programs • COMM Week (32 YEARS) features national and international guest speakers, as well as networking and professional opportunities • 6 WINNERS of the Battle of Flowers Association Oratorical Contest and 4 SECOND PLACE FINISHES RECENT GUEST SPEAKERS Dr. Michael Ward (Oxford), Nina Vaca (CEO and Chairman, Pinnacle Group), Dr. Jennifer Theiss (Rutgers), Pam Cox (VP Whataburger), Andrew Lazo (CS Lewis Scholar), and Joe Hamlin (Cleveland Browns), Susan Ramirez (President/CEO Austin Angels), Dr. Jesse Fox (Ohio State) FOR MORE I NFO, V I S I T: commstudies.txstate.edu 40 ■ C O L L E G E R E P O R T 2 0 2 1 ALUMN I *See also Distinguished Alumni • RON ALVES SR. Subcontract Manager, Lockheed Martin • DR. BRITTANI CROOK User Experience (UX) Researcher at Facebook • MICHELLE DELOACH Owner & Founder, Revelry • ANNE GRADY Motivational speaker and author of 52 Strategies for Life, Love & Work • JEFF HAHN Principal, Hahn Public Communications (Austin) • JOE HOFFER Lawyer/Partner, Schulman, Lopez, & Hoffer LLP • BRANDON LEE Founder & CEO, FunnelAmplified and author of 99 Powerful Questions For Business Owners & Leaders • DR. VIRGINIA MCDERMOTT Dean, High Point University • STEPHEN MCINTOSH HR Management Consultant, Saudi Aramco Base Oil Co. • DONTE MATHIS Former Professional Athlete; Founder of Elevation Skills Sports • SANDRA RODRÍGUEZ PHAM Vice President, HR Business Partner, Deutsche Bank • SHAWN TURNER Former White House Deputy Press Secretary ■ 41