Marie Mater, PhD

• 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

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

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.

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

Her scholarly interests include communication education, communication theory, and environmental discourse. Publications and professional presentations have included work on communication pedagogy, environmental discourse, medical communication, and public spheres.

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

She served as the Project Director for the Fulbright Outreach Lecturing Fund grants in 2023 and 2024 which brought Fulbright Visiting Scholars from Japan and Peru to the HCU campus for lectures.

Her professional memberships include 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.