News & Updates

Celebrating Maureen Keeley

The Department of Communication Studies celebrates the career of Maureen Keeley, who is retiring after 31 years of service to Texas State University. She is currently a Full Professor, teaching courses in Nonverbal Communication, Family Communication, Relational Communication, Interpersonal Communication, and a graduate seminar on End-of-Life Communication. Maureen is considered one of the leading experts in the area of family communication at the end of life. Her focus for over two decades has been to explore "Final Conversations" from the family members’ and close friends' perspective. Her new co-authored book “The Good Goodbye” was published in June 2025 and explores the transformative power of conversation at the end of life.

Maureen has authored 22 refereed, peer-reviewed journal articles, 14 book chapters, 10 encyclopedia articles and three books that have shaped the discourse on end-of-life communication. Her research has been published in journals such as the Southern Communication Journal, Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, Health Communication, Journal of Family Communication, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine, Journal of Loss and Trauma, and Death Studies. Her research is widely cited, both in Communication and interdisciplinary, demonstrating its influence on the field of communication and beyond. 

Her work has been recognized with many awards such as the Bernard J. Brommel Award in Family Communication, NCA Distinguished Article of the Year in Health Communication, Outstanding Article of the Year from the Journal of Family Communication, Book of the Year in Consumer Health from the American Journal of Nursing, and the Presidential Distinction Award for Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activities.

Maureen has also made significant contributions beyond the University setting, engaging the community to enhance public understanding of death and dying communication. She has delivered public lectures, conducted over 30 community workshops, and contributed to policy discussions that bridge the gap between scholarship and real-world application. Through her outreach efforts, she has collaborated with healthcare professionals, hospice organizations, and advocacy groups to improve end-of-life communication practices.

Maureen has also served as a dedicated mentor to the many students she has taught throughout her career. She has provided invaluable guidance to students and early-career researchers, helping them navigate academic and professional development. Many of her advisees have gone on to pursue doctoral degrees and contribute to the field in their unique ways. She sums up her career by saying, “Teaching my students here for the past 31 years has been the greatest honor of my life.”

Amanda Guajardo named Staff Employee of the Month

The Department of Communication Studies is pleased to announce that Amanda Guajardo has been named Staff Employee of the Month for April 2026. 

Amanda earned her B.A. in Business Administration in 2019 and an M.B.A. in Business Administration in 2024, both from Texas State University. She has served the department as Administrative Assistant III since 2020. In that role, she manages many responsibilities such as budget and procurement, travel coordination, human resource duties, managing scheduling operations, grant support, and event planning. Amanda serves as the operational hub of the Department of Communication Studies–managing day-to-day logistics, coordinating communications, and ensuring processes run smoothly for faculty, staff, and students. Amanda exemplifies quality service through her consistently responsive, student-centered, and solutions-oriented approach to every task. She communicates with warmth and professionalism–creating a supportive, we-run environment that reflects the best of Texas State.

President Damphousse, Provost Aswath, and Dean Fleming were on hand to present Amanda with a certificate and share their thoughts.

Forensics Continues Tradition of Excellence

The Elton Abernathy Forensics Society, Texas State’s competitive speech team, is named for Prof. Elton Abernathy, a long-time chair of the department and former Director of Forensics. During the fall and spring semesters, Texas State speech and debate students competed in 19 regular season tournaments including the State Championship tournament for the Texas Intercollegiate Forensic Association (TIFA). Students who qualified were then able to attend one of three different national tournaments, each hosted by a different speech and/or debate organization.  The awards listed below were earned by students who committed hundreds of hours to practice, competition, and travel while also maintaining full course schedules and, in many cases, working to support themselves.

Texas Intercollegiate Forensic Association State Championship (TIFA)

• Team Debate Sweepstakes – First Place
• Team Individual Events Sweepstakes – Second Place
• Team Overall Sweepstakes – First Place

National Online Forensics Championship

• Luke Sides – IPDA Debate – Gold
• Luke Sides – IPDA Debate – Third Place Overall Speaker
• Josh Lockaby – Dramatic Interpretation - Gold
• Carlos Castro and Josh Lockaby – Duo Interpretation – Gold
• Josh Lockaby – Program Oral Interpretation – Gold
• Carlos Castro – Prose – Gold

American Forensic Association National Speech Tournament

• Carlos Castro and Josh Lockaby – Duo Interpretation – Quarter Finalist

International Public Debate Association National Championship and Convention

• Andrew Groce – Novice Division (115 entries) – Triple Octa Finalist

National Forensic Association National Championship

• Taylor Tate – Lincoln Douglas Debate (103 entries) - Quarter Finalist
• Taylor Tate – Lincoln Douglas Debate (103 Entries) - First Place Overall Speaker 

**Taylor Tate is the first Texas State student to be awarded “First Place Overall Speaker” at the NFA National tournament.**

Communication Studies Students Earn Scholarships

The Department of Communication Studies congratulates the undergraduate and graduate students who earned departmental scholarships. All graduate students that applied received between $1581-1600. A special thanks is extended to the scholarship committee of Wayne Kraemer, Jasmine Austin, and Manu Pokharel.

Wilburn Faily Scholarship

1. Monica Cruz $1500

Elton Abernathy Scholarships ($1581.67) each

1. Azja Farabee
2. Cade Glasscock
3. Denise Ndofor
4. James Randall
5. Lexi Howard
6. Caleb Garrison
7. Julia Busby
8. Kaylee Gonzalez
9. Hansen Penya

Excellence Fund Scholarships

1. Jihan Haque $1600
2. Sandy Rioux $400
3. Vianni Dudley $300

 Philip J. Salem Graduate Scholarship

1. Sandy Rioux $1200

 M. Lee Williams and Cathie Fleuriet Graduate Teaching Scholarship

1. Vianni Dudley $1300

Steven A. Beebe Graduate Scholarship ($1585.71 each)

1. Jubayer Mahmud
2. Katie Brindle
3. Mohammad Razzak
4. Nicoly Ribeiro
5. Noshin Hassan
6. Opelouwa Akinbodewa
7. Sanzida Maliha

Communication Studies Celebrates Graduate Students

The Department of Communication Studies, in association with the Graduate College, put together theme days for Graduate Student Appreciation Week. Themes included “Western Day”, “Character Day”, “Wacky Tacky Day”, and “Twin Day”. Special thanks to Amanda Guajardo (Admin III) and Madison Wimmer (Program Coordinator) for creating and coordinating these events.

Faculty Accolades

Jasmine Austin published “Words to live by”, co-authored with her siblings, Drs. Jude and Julius Austin. The autoethnography examines messages received from family members that proved to be pivotal in their academic journeys. She also published “Survival of the thickest as discursive resistance: Rewriting the fat narrative in media”, in Critical Studies in Media Communication (RCSM). The piece was co-authored with Bailey Thrasher (current M.A. student), Amber Brown (B.A. alum), Lilly Ezigbo-Dessesaure (B.A. alum), and Milena Williams (M.A. alum). She also presented a two-part speaking workshop for the TXST leadership academy over Managing Difficult Conversations.

Casey Chilton presented “Developing and Giving Effective Presentations” to the Texas Youth Preparedness Council as they prepare to give presentations on their individual emergency preparedness projects they have implemented in their schools and communities across Texas. Casey also presented to David Angelow’s ANLY 2330 (Data Analytics) classes and to Dr. Vanessa Higgins Joyce’s Research Methods in Mass Communication (MC 3360) course. Casey secured $14,000.00 in Student Service Fee money to fund the COMM Lab for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. 

Elizabeth K. Eger hosted four scholar dialogues with six faculty research experts in her COMM 5319: Organizational Communication seminar in Spring 2026. Master's students read peer-reviewed organizational communication journal articles by the visiting scholar and prepare questions for the discussion. Professors visiting her seminar via Zoom included: Iccha Basnyat from George Mason University, Scotti Branton III from the University of Arkansas, Minkyung Kim from the University of Illinois, Mahuya Pal from the University of South Florida, Keri Stephens from UT Austin, and Astrid Villamil from the University of Missouri.

Nikkie Saldivar Hodgson presented a poster entitled "Communication Studies Career Readiness Students Learn About Food Security" to the 2nd annual Service-Learning Excellence Showcase in McCoy Hall. This project contributes to the Texas State's Service Excellence program as it outlines how the service-learning teaching model can link departments to a unified community interest. Student presenters Vaughn Derr and Lauryn Kalb (Communication Studies majors and students in Dr. Hodgson's Career Readiness course, COMM 3322) co-presented and shared their experience in being involved in volunteering for Bobcat Bounty, coordinating a food drive for Communication Studies Food Cupboard in Centennial Hall and learning about food security on campus and in our communities. Dr. Hodgson extends a special thanks to Dr. Nick Weimer and Ms. Rosario Davis for supporting these types of community initiatives. 

Kellie Marin received the James Madison Prize for Outstanding Research in First Amendment Studies from the Freedom of Speech division of the Southern States Communication Association. The prize was awarded to the "top publication (book, article, or book chapter) on issues related to free expression or the First Amendment authored by a member of SSCA and published during the previous calendar year." She also presented "A needle in a haystack: Examining voting integrity rhetoric and citizenship as an information imaginary," to the SSCA convention in Birmingham, AL.. Kellie guest lectured to Dr. Alan Grant's COMM 3320 (Sports Communication) course on "Fighting Gender Norms" and she joined an interdisciplinary panel of researchers for an online discussion about surveillance, organized by the Surveillance Studies Network (SSN), about Steven Spielberg's 2002 film Minority Report.

Meredith Turner successfully defended her doctoral dissertation entitled “Manipulative Maintenance: Examining Manipulation Behaviors in Romantic Relationships.” Meredith will join the Department of Communication Studies faculty as an Assistant Professor this summer.

Alumni Accolades

B.A. and M.A. alumna Grace Morton was selected as a featured mentor at SXSW 2026. As a mentor in the Brand Track, she was joined by other communication professionals to meet with SXSW attendees looking for advice on all things communication — from career and internship advice to disruptor brands looking for insights for how to promote their brand’s messaging. While the breadth of questions was vast, she shared that it all boils down to one key point: “Stay true to your voice — the right audience (from employers to consumers and fans) will always find you.”

M.A. alumna Tori Rose led the fabrication of the exhibit Inter(mediate) Spaces by Present Futures for the SXSW 2026 VR/XR Exhibition. Inter(mediate) Spaces is a generative AI VR experience that reexamines technology's promise of connection. The experience was created by Chloé Lee the Creative Director & Producer, CEO of Present Futures and Lucas Martinic the XR Creative Technologist, CTO. Present Futures past mixed reality project Reflections of Little Red Dot won the Jury Award at SXSW 2025 where Tori Rose also led the fabrication on the exhibit in Austin, TX.