Carrie Murawski, 32 / Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, Roanoke College
The Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Roanoke College, Carrie Murawski holds a Ph.D. in Communication from Texas A&M University. She boasts multiple peer-reviewed publications and has presented extensively at national conferences, earning the esteemed Scholar-Activist Award from the National Communication Association. Murawski founded the Virginia Conference on Race (VCR) and contributes her artistic flair as the choreographer for RC productions. She is an active member of the National Communication Association, the Rhetoric Society of America and the Southern States Communication Association; co-coordinator of RC’s interdisciplinary Gender & Women’s Studies Concentration; and faculty advisor of the RC chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the national honor society for Communication Studies students. “I am passionate about making our communities more equitable and mentorship. I reimagine (and ask others to do the same) what the world around us could look like outside of oppressive structures that foster and reproduce inequality,” Murawski says. “I see my role in the Roanoke community as fostering conversations so that community members can reimagine the goals of where we live and how we relate to others in communal spaces.”
Education:
- B.A. in Communication and Sociology, University of South Florida (2013)
- Ph.D. in Communication, Texas A&M University (2020)
- Graduate certificate in Women's and Gender Studies from Texas A&M University
Career Achievements:
- Multiple peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Feminist Pedagogy and Women & Language
- Published a book chapter in "Women, Feminism and Pop Politics" in 2018
- Recipient of the Scholar-Activist Award by the National Communication Association's Feminist and Gender Studies Division
- Actively presents research findings at national conferences, with an average of 2 presentations per year
Teaching Initiatives:
- Received a Pathways grant for service-learning projects, making COMM 101 dual-enrollment friendly
- Developed and taught courses on reproductive politics (INQ 120) for first-year students, including a menstrual products drive for local organizations
- Involved in high school curriculum development as a Senior Instructor for Capitol Debate
Community Involvement:
- Founder and organizer of the Virginia Conference on Race (VCR)
- Keynote speaker at the Virginia Department of Transportation's Unity Day in 2022
- Strong patron of the arts and choreographed Roanoke College's 2023 production of "Cabaret"
Career:
- Active research agenda focusing on popular culture, gender and race, particularly in relation to reproductive politics
- Presents research findings at 2 national conference presentations per year (excluding 2020 and 2021)
- Earned a pathways grant for service-learning projects with 1st-year students at Roanoke College.
- Faculty Research Grant for work analyzing the Museum of Sex in NYC
- Serves on Executive Board of Roanoke College's Association of American University Professors (AAUP) chapter
Awards and Honors:
- Recipient of the Scholar-Activist Award by the National Communication Association's Feminist and Gender Studies Division
- Winner of Top Panel or Paper Awards at national conferences
- Recognized with the Murray and Celeste Fasken Distinguished Graduate Teaching Award by Texas A&M University
Community Involvement:
- Founder and organizer of the Virginia Conference on Race (VCR).
- Keynote Speaker at VDOT Unity Day in 2022
- Served as Roanoke College's 2023 Musical Choreographer for "Cabaret."
- Active patron of the arts and previous Berglund Broadway season ticket holder at Mill Mountain Theatre
- INQ 120: Reproductive Politics class 2022 and 2023 menstruation drive to local organizations (Ursula's Cafe, The Lamp Stand and Family Promise), donated a total of $2000 of menstrual products and toiletries
- Created public scholarship document titled "White Allyship: A Researched Guide and Living Document for White People About Being a White Ally in Racist America"
Teaching and Scholarly Achievements:
- Has authored two refereed journal articles and co-authored two book chapters
- Made over twenty presentations at highly-competitive national conferences, with three receiving Top Panel or Paper Awards
- Active member of the National Communication Association, the Rhetoric Society of America and the Southern States Communication Association
- Co-Coordinator of Roanoke College’s interdisciplinary Gender & Women’s Studies Concentration
- Faculty Advisor of the Roanoke College chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the national honor society for Communication Studies students
- Served on the Journal Editorial Board of Women & Language and as a journal reviewer for submissions to Women’s Studies in Communication, Feminist Pedagogy and Departures in Critical Qualitative Research
- Served as a submission reviewer for the National Communication Association Convention's Feminist and Gender Studies Division and Critical Cultural Studies Division
- Peer-reviewed article published in Feminist Pedagogy in 2023.
- Peer-reviewed article published in Women & Language in 2021.
- Book chapter published in "Women, Feminism and Pop Politics" by Karrin Anderson in 2018.
Additional Contributions:
- Developed curriculum for middle and high school students, teaching debate and interpersonal communication.
- Served as a judge for high school debates
From the Nominations: “Carrie Murawski … is a talented scholar and researcher who goes far beyond the typical expectations of a faculty member. She mentors and advocates for her students, gives them the tools to reach their potential and asks all of her students to engage actively with the world around them.
Dr. Carrie M. Murawski, assistant professor of Communication Studies, came to Roanoke College in Fall 2019 as a multi-talented, highly-energetic, thoughtful and focused force for good. As a Communication Studies teacher, her focus is on Rhetoric, on the ways in which as humans we communicate or fail to communicate, especially in the public sphere. Murawski's mission is to help students find their own voices as they prepare for roles as the next generation’s citizens and leaders.
Of special concern to Murawski are the ways in which marginalized peoples are often shut out of the conversation within that public sphere. This concern is clearly evident in the courses she teaches. With her students, she analyzes the messages of Foucault and Derrida alongside Angelina Grimke Weld, Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Her research presentations at national conferences include titles such as “Examining Depictions of Black Women Obtaining Abortion Healthcare on American Television” (National Communication Association Convention, 2022), “United Flight 3411 Controversy: Examining Privilege and the Asian American Model Minority” (NCA Convention, 2018), “Ballez and Queering Classical Dance: Re-examining Queer Performances and Dance Herstory” (NCA Convention, 2017) and “TikTok and the #Savage Fight for Black Copyright” (Rhetoric Society of America Biennial Convention, 2022).
Murawski's reach goes far beyond her classroom. In April 2022, the inaugural Virginia Conference on Race (VCR), an event designed to foster student research, was held on campus. The VCR would never have happened without Murawski. She came up with the idea, put together a proposal and a plan, obtained basic funding from the College’s Center for Studying Structures of Race, sent out a call for student submissions, organized faculty reviewers for those submissions, created panels for accepted submissions for sessions on Friday, invited a keynote speaker for the opening conference session on Thursday night, booked venues on campus and publicized the conference on campus and through local media outlets. She did all the above--single-handedly. There was certainly no precedent for anything like this at Roanoke College. And the 2022 VCR was wildly successful by any standards. Those Friday panels (24 in all) offered presentations from 38 undergraduate and graduate students representing 12 institutions, mostly from across the state of Virginia. Over 350 people attended the VCR, with many of the sessions having standing room only.
March 2023 saw the second annual VCR with approximately 430 attendees and undergraduate and graduate student presenters from 8 institutions, including Concordia University (Montreal, Quebec), making the VCR an “international” gathering of student scholars. As with the 2022 VCR, Murawski's hard work and vision was responsible for the very successful outcome.
The third annual VCR will take place in April 2024. Again, under Murawski's leadership, the Conference will no doubt offer the same energizing collection of students presenting research on topics that are vital to the well-being of all of us. ...
The most significant recognition of her work is also the most recent: less than a year ago, in November 2022, at the 108th Annual National Communication Association convention in New Orleans, Murawski won the Scholar-Activist Award in the NCA’s Feminist and Gender Studies Division. The Award was based on her extraordinary work at Roanoke College and on her continued scholarship in the critical areas of race and gender politics.
Murawski is an active member of the National Communication Association, the Rhetoric Society of America and of the Southern States Communication Association. She also serves on the Executive Board for the Roanoke College Chapter of the American Association for University Professors.
Her professional contributions also include serving on the Journal Editorial Board of Women & Language, as well as being a journal reviewer for submissions to Women’s Studies in Communication, Feminist Pedagogy and Departures in Critical Qualitative Research. She has also served as submission reviewer for the National Communication Association Convention’s Feminist and Gender Studies Division and Critical Cultural Studies Division.
Murawski is a Co-Coordinator of Roanoke College’s interdisciplinary Gender & Women’s Studies Concentration and is the Faculty Advisor of the Roanoke College chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the national honor society for Communication Studies students.
With her work on the Virginia Conference on Race, Murawski has created a platform which benefits undergraduate and graduate students throughout the state. They have the rare experience of presenting research to a receptive audience, of seeing other students from other colleges and universities also presenting and of engaging in a dialogue about topics that are often controversial and uncomfortable but that are of vital importance to the well-being of all communities.
Murawski's commitment to community involvement is also evidenced by the service project of her Reproductive Politics class (INQ 120), a spring course offering designed for first-year students. For the past two years, students in her INQ classes have tackled what is called “period poverty,” a term describing the situation of many women who do not have access to necessary menstruation products. Under Murawski's supervision, students conduct research to learn about the extent of the problem and then complete a service project designed to help the local community. Working with Ursula's Cafe, the Lampstand and Family Promise, to date, Murawski's students have raised more than $2,000 in menstruation products and toiletries.
Murawski's communication expertise has also benefitted the community in other ways. In 2022, Murawski was invited by Ken King, Salem District Engineer, to be the keynote speaker at Unity Day for the Salem District of the Virginia Department of Transportation. Murawski's keynote address, entitled “Implicit Bias and Communication,” covered topics such as empathetic listening and intercultural communication and was delivered to an audience of over 600 VDOT employees who had come to Salem from the 12 counties comprising the Salem District.
Murawski is a warm, funny and vibrant human being. She seems to be at home in any environment. She cares passionately about social justice, about the way humans treat each other. And she never misses an opportunity to offer her own gifts in the service of making the lives of others better. She expects much from her students and they rise to meet her expectations. As a senior member of the department, I watched in amazement as the program’s required and dreaded courses in Rhetoric became two of the most popular courses in the major when Murawski began teaching them. Students respond in kind to the warmth and compassion of her approach to them. Her faith in them and in the possibilities of humans being good to each other draws them to her and they amaze themselves with what they can accomplish. ...
Murawski, her husband, Dom and their dog, Denver have embraced the Roanoke Valley since their arrival in 2019. Their love of their new home is evident in the many ways they have settled in: buying their first home, feeding the wildlife in their back yard, hiking the trails, enjoying the craft beer at local breweries, attending local festivals and performances at Mill Mountain Theatre and being season ticket holders for Broadway at Berglund. They have a genuine appreciation for the natural beauty, the culture and the people of the Roanoke Valley. ...
Murakowski is a great and well-loved teacher herself, who teaches courses on Communication, Rhetoric and race, all the while championing student development. Murawski believes that all education can have positive and lasting impacts on communities. Her students go on to be community activists and researchers themselves. …
In addition to being the founder and organizer of Virginia's Conference on Race, she has also served high school curriculum. Between 2020-2022 she was the Senior Instructor for Capitol Debate and developed curriculum for middle and high school students, teaching debate 101, Debate 201 and Interpersonal Communication. She has served as a judge for high school debates as well.
What sets Murawski apart is her ambition on behalf of her communities. All of her research and writing is directed towards better understanding how language creates community and how language might transform community for the better. Her goal to have a collaboration of colleges and universities across Virginia and to have students and teachers alike, present their research in multiple fields of study, all the while asking how we might grow and collaborate across race and gender lines, makes her a powerful visionary in out community. And she's only just begun!
I am in my twenty-fifth year teaching at Roanoke College and living in the Roanoke Valley. Murawski is one of the most dynamic members of this community I have seen. Her ambition for wellness on behalf of all the communities of the valley makes her a teacher, scholar and community organizer to watch. She has already done so much and she will do great things in the future for our community. The acknowledgement of her work with this award will only help to propel her to further success.”
What do you love about Roanoke?
“I love Roanoke's emphasis on the arts, inclusion and the landscape of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Roanoke is the perfect blend of city and nature, energy and serenity. My favorite things to do in Roanoke are walk along the Roanoke River Greenway with my family, visit the Taubman Museum of Art and attend live theatre.”
How does your passion impact our community?
“I am passionate about making our communities more equitable and mentorship. I reimagine (and ask others to do the same) what the world around us could look like outside of oppressive structures that foster and reproduce inequality. I teach tools of community-building, critical thinking and citizenship that not only better my students, but also the larger Roanoke community and beyond. I see my role in the Roanoke community as fostering conversations so that community members can reimagine the goals of where we live and how we relate to others in communal spaces.”