Communication Studies’ Steven Beebe named 23rd Texas State Piper Professor

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Jayme Blaschke | August 1, 2018

“For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a teacher," Beebe said. "I am grateful to have had the opportunity to teach others the importance of communicating well.”

Beebe has served as chair of the Department of Communication Studies at Texas State for 28 years and concurrently as associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication for 25 years. Prior to joining the faculty at Texas State, he was a tenured member of the communication faculty at the University of Miami for 10 years. He has been a visiting scholar at both Oxford University and Cambridge University and was elected a permanent member of the Common Room of Wolfson College, Oxford University.

Beebe made international headlines when he discovered a manuscript written by C.S. Lewis that was the partial opening chapter of a book that was to be co-authored with J. R. R. Tolkien called Language and Human Nature. In 2016 he discovered an unknown poem by Lewis.

He is author and co-author of 12 books and more than 55 articles and book chapters, plus more than 160 papers and presentations at professional conferences. Steve’s research, with a focus on instructional communication and skill development, has appeared in such journals as Communication Education, Human Communication, Communication Research Reports and several Russian academic journals.

Other leadership roles for Beebe include serving as president of the National Communication Association, the largest professional communication association in the world, founding member of the Russian Communication Association and co-director of the first Russian Communication Association conference held in Pyatigorsk, Russia. He has also served as president of the Florida Communication Association.

Beebe adds his Piper Professor designation to a list of prestigious accolades including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Research at Texas State, Presidential Award for Excellence in Service at Texas State twice, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Communication Association's training and development division, Honors Professor of the Year and Everette Swinney Faculty Senate Excellence in Teaching Award twice. His alma mater, the University of Central Missouri, named him a Distinguished Alumni in 2010 and the National Speaker’s Association has named him Outstanding Communication Professor in America.