Blair Thompson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Core Course Director
Phone: 270-745-5889
eMail: blair.thompson@wku.edu
Ph.D., University of Nebraska, 2007
M.A., Communication, Minnesota State University, Mankato, 2003
B.A., English Communication, Concordia College, 1998
Address:
159 Fine Arts Center
Western Kentucky University
Bowling Green, KY 42101
Teaching Interests:
Interpersonal Communication
Public Speaking
Instructional Communication
Communication Theory
Research Interests:
Dr. Thompson’s research investigates and reflects upon the educational process in order to better understand the relationship between communication and learning.
Publications:
Thompson, B. (In press). Characteristics of parent-teacher e-mail
communication. Communication Education.
Thompson, B. (2008). How college freshmen communicate student
academic support: A grounded theory study. Communication
Education, 57, 123-144.
Thompson, B. (2007). The syllabus as a communication document:
Constructing and presenting the syllabus. Communication
Education, 56, 54-71.
Quick Biography:
Born in Michigan (but considers Montana home), Dr. Thompson graduated from Concordia College in 1998 with a B. A. in English and Communication (emphasis on secondary education). He received his M. A. in Communication from Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2003. Dr. Thompson received his Ph. D. from the University of Nebraska in 2007 where he studied instructional and interpersonal communication. Dr. Thompson taught high school for three years prior to returning to graduate school. He was also a high school and college forensics coach for eight years. New to Western Kentucky University’s Department of Communication faculty, Dr. Thompson will be teaching honors public speaking courses as well as a graduate level interpersonal course in the Fall 2007 semester. His on-going research projects focus on discovering how pedagogical communication and relationships differ from other forms of communication and relationships, addressing how power is communicatively constructed and maintained between teachers and students, learning how students communicate academic support, and examining how computer-mediated communication is transforming various pedagogical relationships (i. e. student-teacher, parent-teacher, and parent-child).