News

The applications for Baylor Communication & International Politics Summer 2025 is now open! Join Dr. Luke Winslow in a study abroad trip to Spain & Portugal for 3 weeks in May and June.

The latest episode of Baylor Connections features Dr. Leslie Hahner as she shares her insight on learning to navigate complex conversations about civil discourse while embodying the call to love our neighbor.

This week, Isabella Harvison, Graduate student in Communications, was honored as the 2024 Cissie Leary Award recipient for Sportsmanship in the Texas region.
 
The ITA Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship goes to a Division I women's player from each region who displays inspiring dedication and commitment to her team, which has enhanced her team's performance and exemplified the spirit of college tennis. It dates back to 1997 and is in memory of the late and widely admired Penn women's tennis coach Cissie Leary.

McNair scholar, Ashlynn Main, has received full funding to attend a PhD program in Political Science at Washington State University.  Ashlynn is a first-generation college student who just graduated this May with a B.A. in Communication major. 

The Department of Communication wants to congratulate the following graduates for all of their hard work and perseverance to complete their Master of Arts in Communication degree:

• Kim Caronia
• Heather Davenport
• Kylie Drossner
• Mauricio Funes
• Ellie Allison
• Eldad Eyimife

On Friday, April 26th, Matt Schreiner--under the direction of Dr. Luke Winslow—successfully defended his Honors thesis: Stare Decisis and Originalism: A Comparative Analysis of Two Legal Appeals.

Baylor Debate attended the 78th National Debate Tournament earlier this month, extending Baylor's streak of qualifying and competing at nationals to over 20 years! 

The Department of Communication is so blessed to have such a fabulous Graduate Student Worker. 

Dr. Luke Winslow's Children as Rhetorical Advocates in Social Movements examines “Rhetorical Children” as visible and vocal communicators, shaping public discourse on contentious social issues related to organized labor, civil rights, gun violence, and climate change.

The mandatory pre-departure meeting for the Communication & International Politics study abroad course will be Thursday, March 21 in Castellaw 240 at 4:30 pm.

The Spring Communication Majors Meeting is happening soon.

Earlier this year, Baylor Debate competed at Weber State University, with one team invited to the prestigious Val Browning Round Robin and another competing in the tournament itself.

The team traveled to the University of Central Oklahoma to qualify for the NDT in a rigorous 8 round competition against other universities from a district covering Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Wanting to study abroad over the summer? Dr. Luke Winslow is leading a study abroad trip to Spain, France, and Italy, AND you earn six credit hours through the program. For more information follow @baylorcomm_ineurope on Instagram. 

Have you ever imagined yourself living in New York? The Baylor in New York Program is now accepting applications for Fall '24 and Spring '25 semesters. 

The Fall 2023 version of Baylor University’s “Best of the Best” speech contest was held on Monday, December 4, 2023. Communication Department graduate students nominate the best speakers from each of the 60 students in their public speaking groups. Those students give their final speeches before an audience of 200 students who vote to determine the outcome.

In The Power of Regret, bestselling author Daniel Pink surveyed 15,000 people near the end of their lives and asked them to name their greatest regret.  According to his research, the #1 regret was not studying abroad in college!

Dr. Luke Winslow and Baylor undergraduate, Daniel Ho, won the Religious Communication Association's Top Overall Paper at the National Communication Association's annual convention. 

Dr. Matt Gerber was awarded the 2023 American Forensics Association (AFA) Distinguished Service Award for his decades of service to the college debate community.

Dr. Luke Winslow and Baylor undergrad Daniel Ho will present their paper "Constrained by (Methodological) Freedom: Synthesizing the Wesleyan Quadrilateral and Postmodern Rhetorical Theory" to the Top Papers Panel in Religious Communication at the National Communication Association annual convention in Washington D.C. next week.  

Congratulations to Erica Kolson, Baylor Communication MA '23, for her award for scholarship at the 2023 Religious Communication Association's Annual Convention. 

The Baylor Department of Communication hosted Dr. Craig Scott for the 2nd Annual Baylor Organizational Communication Symposium.

Dr. Arden Roeder’s newest publication (co-authored with Dr. Ryan Bisel of The University of Oklahoma) in Communication Monographs extends Organizational Communication research related to resilience and reliability. The paper details how individuals and teams in organizations can more effectively use communication to minimize the impacts of disruptive workplace events.

Join Lambda Pi Eta on Thursday, October 25th from 8:00am to 7:00pm for their profit share at Mamaka Bowls.

The Baylor Debate freshman team went undefeated at their most recent Weber State Debate Tournament. 

Faculty member, Kelly Nagel recently published a new piece in the Rhetoric Society Quarterly. Her essay examines confederate memory sites and argues that these sites are a form of a space for encounter. 

Join Dr. Luke Winslow in June 2024 for a study abroad trip visiting France, Spain and Italy to study Communication and International Politics.

Department faculty Dr. Ashley Barrett and Dr. Jessica Ford collaborated on a piece that was recently published in Health Communication. Their publication builds a preliminary theoretical model for communication overload in hospitals.

Lambda Pi Eta (the official honor society for Communication) recently held a ceremony for their new inductees.

The department hosted an alumni panel where current students asked Communication alumni questions about their career paths.

Almost from the time when Baylor University began classroom instruction in May 1846, Baylor students have honed their abilities to reason, research and defend ideas and policies through meeting their peers in formal debates.

For more than a century, Baylor debaters have successfully examined the important issues facing society

Congratulations to the Bachelor/Master of Arts candidates who successfully completed their Praxis Practicum internships, reports, and presentations this Spring.

Congratulations to the Master of Arts candidates who successfully defended thesis projects this Spring.

Accelerated master's student and volleyball player Hannah Sedwick balances school and athletics, returning to BU for Fall 2021 season.

Sam Aker (BA/MA Communication), Jessica Owston (BA Communication), and Kieran Cunninham (BA/MA Communication) selected as outstanding students in the Department of Communication.

The deadline to apply for the Bachelor's/Master's (4+1) program has been extended to June 1, 2021. Admitted applicants will begin taking graduate-level coursework in Spring 2022. For more information, contact Program Director Dr. Lacy McNamee (Lacy_McNamee@baylor.edu).

With sadness, we share the passing of Dr. Lee Rivers Polk. Dr. Polk served the Department of Communication for more than 30 years as a professor, department chair, and the Director of Forensics and Debate.

In the words of our department chair, Dr. David Schlueter: We are saddened by the passing of Dr. Martin J. Medhurst. We are humbled by his impressive legacy of scholarship, teaching, and service. Thank you, Marty, for being a wonderful friend, mentor, and colleague over the last twenty years.

At a time in which political views are polarizing and tensions are high, civil discourse is necessary now more than ever. However, our ability to respectfully and productively discuss topics with those who hold a different view has significantly waned in recent years.

WACO, Texas (Dec. 7, 2020) – Brief “huddles” — rather than a barrage of emails and texts about safety and risk — may be the fastest and simplest way for hospital workers to avoid communication overload as they deal with the flood of COVID-19 cases, a Baylor University researcher says.