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COMversations

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About COMversations

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the faculty and staff of the Department of Communication Studies began working from home and teaching online. Now that faculty and students have returned to campus and have more opportunities for face-to-face interactions, we feel the need to re-introduce ourselves to our colleagues and students. With these podcast episodes, we hope to help our students and the public meet the people who teach the classes, conduct the research, and learn throughout our department. We also hope to get to know each other better and build a richer academic community. So lend an ear to the personal stories of the faculty and staff preparing students for a promising future.

Listen to full episodes below or subscribe to COMversations at UNLV via Apple, Spotify, or your podcast platform of choice.

Episodes

COMversations Podcast: Dr. Craig Hennigan
Mar. 10, 2023
In this week’s COMversation, hosts Kevin Stoker and Dave Nourse sit down with Department of Communication Studies faculty member and acting director of UNLV’s Debate Team, Dr. Craig Hennigan. Craig shares with us what inspired his love of debate and his passion for coaching it, how his path to graduate school and his eventual PhD wasn’t exactly a straight one, and his deep affinity for the…
COMversations Podcast: Dr. Natalie Pennington
Feb. 10, 2023
Dr. Natalie Pennington is in the hot seat for this episode of COMvesations. Natalie is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies who researches the intersection of interpersonal communication and communication technology. Natalie chats with hosts Kevin Stoker and Dave Nourse about how the rise of Facebook during her time as an undergrad spurred her initial interest in the…
COMversations Podcast: Dr. Rebecca Rice
Dec. 24, 2022
This episode of COMverstaions features Dr. Rebecca Rice. Rebecca is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies whose research focuses on risk, crisis, and emergency organizing. In this wide ranging interview, hosts Kevin Stoker and Dave Nourse get a little insight into what fascinates Rebecca about risk, why as a high schooler she had a subscription to the Economist…
COMversations Podcast: Dr. David Gruber
Dec. 24, 2022
In this week's COMversation, hosts Kevin Stoker and Dave Nourse sit down with Associate Professor, David Gruber. David joined the Department of Communication Studies faculty after working nearly a decade oversees at institutions in Copenhagen, Hong Kong and Auckland, New Zealand. He is a persuasive communications scholar who has published extensively on rhetoric and the brain. In this interview…
COMversations Podcast: Dr. Donovan Conley
Dec. 24, 2022
In this week's episode, hosts Kevin Stoker and Dave Nourse sit down with Donovan Conley. Donovan is an associate professor of Communication Studies and is the longest serving faculty member in the department. This wide ranging COMversation touches on variety of topics including some of the biggest takeaways from Donovan's recent visit to Vietnam; how his plans as a Canadian high school student…
COMversations Podcast: Jenny Farrell, M.A.
Dec. 23, 2022
In this episode of COMversations, hosts Kevin Stoker and Dave Nourse chat with Jenny Farrell. Jenny's a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies with over a decade of teaching experience at UNLV. She specializes in interpersonal communications with a specific focus on long-distance relationships. We'll hear how her personal experience in a long-distance relationship served as…
COMversations Podcast: Dr. Laura Martinez
Dec. 23, 2022
In our second installment of the COMversations podcast, hosts Kevin Stoker and Dave Nourse sit down with Dr. Laura Martinez. Laura joined the UNLV Department of Communication Studies in the summer of 2022 after completing her doctoral studies from Arizona State University. Laura is an expert in organizational communication with specific research interests surrounding circus. We'll hear what…
COMversations Podcast: Dr. Nick Tatum
Dec. 23, 2022
The COMversations podcast series starts off with a bang as hosts Kevin Stoker and Dave Nourse chat with Dr. Nick Tatum. As the Basic Course Director for the Department of Communication at UNLV, Nick is responsible for the development of the introductory courses aimed at attracting students to the major. We learn why Nick loves the discipline despite starting off as a music major in college. We…