Communication Studies

Department of Communication Studies News

The Department of Communication Studies offers programs focused on relational and public communication. We teach and deploy communication skills in interpersonal, small group, organizational, and political settings, which in turn helps others to develop critical thinking, writing, and speaking skills. Our goal is to best serve communication needs by training citizens to engage, motivate, and impact communities.

Current Communication Studies News

The Las Vegas skyline (Josh Hawkins, UNLV).
Campus News | December 4, 2023

A collection of news stories highlighting UNLV’s dedication to community and research.

man in red shirt with arms crossed over chest
People | October 16, 2023

The Outstanding Alumnus of the Year helps raise millions of dollars in his 28 years with the UNLV Foundation.

The Sphere on the Las Vegas Strip.
Campus News | October 2, 2023

A collection of news stories highlighting expert insights, research, and academic achievement.

woman dressed in white blazer and pants sitting on ottoman
People | September 12, 2023

U.S. District judge uses lessons learned from her distinguished career to mentor and inspire UNLV's next generation of jurists.

Students at Pida Plaza on the first day of classes (Josh Hawkins, UNLV).
Campus News | September 1, 2023

A roundup of prominent news stories highlighting university pride, research, and community collaboration.

women wearing t-shirt that says UNLV Home of the Brave
Campus News | April 21, 2023

A collection of news stories highlighting the experts and student changemakers at UNLV.

Communication Studies In The News

San Bernardino County Sun
November 22, 2023

Experts share tips for effective — not combative — conversations. Facts and kindness matter.

The Orange County Register
November 19, 2023

Some Christians feel a duty to take care of God's creation. Others see climate change as a 'wicked' distraction.

The Independent UK
November 9, 2023

Will Haley take centre stage again? Will Christie continue to go after Trump? And with the former president’s massive lead, do the debates matter at all?

Voice of America
October 3, 2023

Jacob Thompson, a communication studies professor, notes that Scott faces unique challenges due to his position in the Republican Party and his race. While he excels in projecting positivity and optimism, the Republican Party tends to adopt a more critical and pessimistic tone as the opposition party.

The Hill
September 23, 2023

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is signaling he could be taking a more aggressive approach toward rivals ahead of the second GOP debate next week as he trails several contenders in 2024 polls.

TheMessenger
September 11, 2023

A Timothée Chalamet fan account went viral this past week, after fellow fans and other social media users suspected the creator of developing a parasocial relationship with the actor.

Communication Studies Experts

A rhetorical studies professor who researches the impact of cultural influences on how we view food and taste.
An expert on interpersonal communication and long-distance relationships.
An expert in competitive debate, policy debate, argumentation and persuasion, and presidential and political debates.
An expert in organizational communication that pertains to emergencies such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and mass shootings.
An expert on science communication, religion and politics.
Dean of the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs and expert in community renewal, risk and crisis communications. 

Recent Communication Studies Accomplishments

December 5, 2023
Assistant professor Rebecca Rice (Communication Studies) received a top paper award for her paper, "How will Climate Change Change Organizing? An Exploratory Study of How Emergency Organizations Frame Climate Change," from the Western States Communication Conference. 
October 3, 2023
Rebecca Rice (Communication Studies) published the article, “Constituting absence as reliability: The case of COVID-19 response networks,” in Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management.
September 25, 2023
A new edition of a well-known undergraduate textbook in Denmark titled, "Retorik: Teori og Praksis," [Rhetoric: Theory & Practice] has been published with a chapter dedicated to Visual Rhetoric written by David R. Gruber (Communication Studies). The book was edited by Charlotte Jorgensen and Lisa Villadsen and will be widely used across…
September 25, 2023
Emma Frances Bloomfield (Communication Studies) and co-author Samantha Senda-Cook (Creighton University) won the 2023 Oravec Journal Article Award in Environmental Communication for their article titled, "Building Coalitions from Shared Pieties: Polyvocal Religious Environmentalism at the Asian Rural Institute," which was published in the Journal…
August 29, 2023
Emma Frances Bloomfield (Communication Studies) has been awarded the Early Career Award by the Rhetoric and Community Theory Division of the National Communication Association. The award honors a current member of the division who has established an innovative and robust research project within eight years of having earned the Ph.D. degree and …
July 21, 2023
David R. Gruber (Communication Studies) recently published an article titled, "Toward a Rhetorical Theory of the Face: Algorithmic Inequalities and Biometric Masks as Material Protest." The article draws on rhetorical concepts and new materialist theory to think ecologically about the face and its role in communication. Despite the development of…