New Mexico State University

Drs. Morales, Hubbell, and Armfield published their chapter on Taking Action to Increase Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace: Integrity and Compliance-Based Training as a Foundation for Training in Organizations for the book titled Communication and Organizational Changemaking for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. Their chapter focuses on the evaluation compliance-based and integrity-based training as well as a review of best practices for DEI organizational training.

Click here for more information.

Congratulations to Dr. Flora, Dr. Morales, and Dr. Paik for their publication in the June 2023 issue of the Journal of Social & Personal Relationships, Shared Family Identity and communicatively managing the adaptation of family gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Their article examines the choice of potentially adapting family gatherings due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the impact of shared family identity on these decisions. Using Social Identity Theory and Communication Accommodation Theory, their findings offer important insights into how families can deal with disagreements about important topics by communicating respect, openness, and understanding. 

Read the full article on Sage Journals

The Palgrave Handbook of Deceptive Communication (2019) brings together more than 100 scholars from an array of fields to unravel the topic of lying and deception in human interaction. This interdisciplinary handbook explores historical and theoretical perspectives on deception, cultural and ethical dimensions of deceptive communication, and strategies for detecting and deterring deceit. Truth-telling, lies, and the many gray areas in-between are examined in the contexts of identity formation, interpersonal relationships, groups and organizations, social and mass media, marketing, advertising, law enforcement interrogations, court, politics, and propaganda.The Palgrave Handbook of Deceptive Communication is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, academics, researchers, practitioners, and anyone interested in the pervasive nature of truth, deception, and ethics in the modern world.

To learn more about the text, click here.

Family Communication carefully examines state-of-the art research and theories of family communication and family relationships. In this edition, Dr. Flora and Dr. Segrin address long standing questions regarding marriage, stepfamilies, and parent-child relationships while also exploring new research on romantic relationship pathways, same-sex marriage and divorce, parenting trends, as well as military families, adoptive families, and families with a transgender member. This text will be useful for students and teachers of family communication, as well as for professionals who work with families and seek an evidence-based understanding of functional and dysfunctional family processes.

To learn more about the text, click here.

Merj Hemp (MA, 2009): Beyond the Shadow of 3,000 Pairs of Shoes: A Story of Hopelessness, Persistence, and Survival 

Valerie Day-Sánchez (BA, 2008; MA, 2010): Harlow Whittaker and the Soothsayers 

Blessed Ngoe (MA, Fall 2018): The Sinking Ship: A Critical Analysis of Multiculturalism in Postcolonial Cameroon

In November 2017, the S.P.A.C.E. (Spreading Peace and Countering Extremism) Project, developed by Dr. Hacker and his Political Communication students, sponsored a forum on controversial statues in America. The purpose of the forum, which included a panel consisting of NMSU professors, was to promote an open and peaceful discussion about this current issue.

The S.P.A.C.E. project was also featured on KRWG radio in May 2017 and in the Las Cruces Sun-News in June 2017.

Throughout the 2016-2017 school year, Dr. Hacker’s Political Communication students developed a social media campaign to educate others on the importance of engaging in peaceful communication and being proactive against violent rhetoric towards immigration. More information available here.

Mike Halliwell’s Spring 2017 Persuasion Theory class developed persuasive campaigns to raise money for local charities.

The persuasive communication campaign assignment encourages students to apply the persuasion theories and concepts they have learned in class to make a difference in the NMSU and Las Cruces community. During the Spring 2017 semester, students have been working hard developing and implementing persuasive campaigns to help collect donations for local charities.

Persuasion Theory students held an “Easter Egg Fundraiser” outside the Corbett Center on Monday, April 10th to raise money for the El Caldito Soup Kitchen in Las Cruces. In exchange for their donation, individuals received a toy Easter egg filled with a fun surprise!

Persuasion Theory students held a car wash on Saturday, April 8th to raise money for Safe Haven Animal Sanctuary, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding nurturing homes for cats and dogs in Las Cruces.

Communication Studies Alumna is successful author, motivational speaker, and community engagement specialist

After graduating from NMSU, Merj created the Complicated Conversations Post-9/11 Project, a self-funded program in which she engages members of different communities in difficult conversations about the most pressing issues facing Americans and people around the world today. Among her most notable accomplishments are her Let’s Talk (It’s Time America) podcast and her #jump4thevets skydiving events.