Claim OwnershipCOMversations at UNLV
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© 2025 UNLV Dept. of Communication Studies
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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 are returning to campus and having more opportunities for face-to-face interactions, we almost feel like we need to re-introduce ourselves to our colleagues and students. The same is true for other schools and departments in the College of Urban Affairs and across the university. We believe that the best way to (re)introduce ourselves is by sharing the personal stories and backgrounds of our faculty and staff. The goal is to introduce each of our faculty and staff members to students, the public, and each other. Starting with these podcasts, we hope to build a podcasting network devoted to helping students and the public meet the people who teach the classes, conduct the research, and manage media operations. 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.
9 Episodes
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Dr. Tara McManus is in the hot seat for this episode of COMversations. Tara is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies who researches how close friends and family members can communicate more effectively and foster stronger relationships with one another. Tara shares with hosts Kevin and Dave the challenges of playing the violin, trumpet and french horn despite being rhythmically challenged, how her fierce competitive spirit helped introduce her to her now husband, and how she fell in love with the study of Communications despite majoring in Chemistry as an undergrad.
In this week’s COMversation, hosts Kevin and Dave 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 Detroit Tigers and Red Wings. He also puts in a rather shameless plug for the UNLV Debater of the Year competition.
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 and Dave about how the rise of Facebook during her time as an undergrad spurred her initial interest in the way people communicate through tech platforms. She also shares how despite wanting to be a theater kid in high school, she wound up on her high school and college debate team. Finally, as a recovering Applebee’s employee, Natalie shares with us what her go-to meal would be.
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 and Dave get a little insight into what fascinates Rebecca about risk, why as a high schooler she had a subscription to the Economist magazine, and how she can get out of a speeding ticket anytime she's driving in Boulder County, Colorado.
In this week's COMversation, hosts Kevin and Dave 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. David is a persuasive communications scholar who has published extensively on rhetoric and the brain. In this interview we hear about David's need to play the electric guitar as loud as possible, his love of rocks and geology, and how a humor writing course he took as undergrad at USC, taught by the legendary Shelley Berman, sparked an intellectual curiosity that eventually led him to pursue a PhD.
In this week's episode, hosts Kevin and Dave 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 intending to play basketball in college went sideways and the resulting path that ultimately took him on; and the surprising role a former colleague had in setting the stage for his eventual marriage.
In this episode of COMversations, Kevin and Dave 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 the catalyst for this line of inquiry. We'll also get some insight into how this Alanis Morissette and drag performance loving mother-of-two came to own a 28-year-old tortoise named Dandy.
In our second installment of the COMversations podcast, hosts Kevin and Dave 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 initially got her interested in circus as well as why she considers herself an old soul who just so happens to love mob films like The Godfather.
The COMversations podcast starts off with a bang as hosts Kevin and Dave 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 also get interesting insight into Nick's affinity for a cappella music, trashy reality shows, and diet Dr. Pepper.
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