Marie Mater, PhD

College of Arts and Humanities
English, Communication, Great Texts, and Modern Languages
  • Associate Professor of Speech Communication
  • Program Coordinator, Speech Communications (Minor)

Education

  • PhD in Sociology, University College Cork-National University of Ireland
  • MA in Rhetorical Studies, University of Iowa
  • BA in Communication Studies & Political Science, Washburn University

Courses Taught

  • Great American Speeches
  • Intercultural Communication
  • Interpersonal Communication
  • Legal Communication
  • Rhetoric and Public Speaking

Teaching Focus

Dr. Mater introduces students to speech communication and prepares them for careers in the corporate, educational, legal, ministry, medical, and political worlds.  Her students have been accepted into graduate communication schools, major corporations, graduate healthcare administration programs, law schools, medical schools, non-profit organizations, political think tanks, schools of theology, and the White House.

Awards and Honors

She has been the College of Arts and Humanities nominee for both the Opal Goolsby Outstanding Teaching Award and the Piper Professor Award.

Additional Information

Her scholarly interests include: communication theory, cyber-communication, and environmental discourse. Publications and professional presentations have included work on environmental discourse, the Internet, public spheres, and smart mobs.

She has been published in China, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. She has given presentations of her work in India, Israel, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Her professional memberships include the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre, the International Communication Association, and the National Communication Association.

Before coming to HCU, Dr. Mater taught at the University of Iowa in the United States, Indiana University-ITM/MUCIA in Malaysia and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

While at HCU, Dr. Mater has served on the Academic Assessment Review Committee, the Institutional Research Committee, the Professional Growth Committee, the QEP Committee, and the Social Committee.