Professor and Chair
Office Hours: By appointment, please email jonesri@marshall.edu
Access full curriculum vitae here.
Website: https://richardgjonesjrphd.com
About
Richard G. Jones, Jr. is Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication Studies at Marshall University. Dr. Jones came to Marshall University in 2023 after 13 years as a faculty member at Eastern Illinois University where he was promoted from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor to Professor, served as the Basic Course Director for 10 years, coordinated the online degree completion program, and supervised the dual credit speech programs.
Dr. Jones was a first-generation college student and is committed to supporting and mentoring students through the challenges that they experience as they navigate the world of higher education.
Dr. Jones is an award-winning teacher who has won teaching awards as a graduate teaching assistant, tenure-track faculty member, and tenured professor. He was nominated twice to the U.S. Professors of the Year program associated with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Dr. Jones is also an award-winning textbook author. In 2019, Dr. Jones’s book Communication in the Real World (2nd edition) was honored with the Textbook of Distinction Award by the Basic Course Division of the National Communication Association.
Communication in the Real World was just published in the 3rd Edition in 2023 by Flat World. The 3rd Edition is a substantial revision that adds hundreds of new citations from recent research, 90 engaging videos chosen to supplement the content, and expanded coverage of diversity and cultural identities.
Dr. Jones is an engaged scholar. He currently serves on the editorial boards for Journal of International & Intercultural Communication and Communication Teacher. He has published several academic journal articles and book chapters.
Dr. Jones is also committed to inclusive excellence, as is evidenced in the statement below:
“Inclusion is at the core of my values and practices as an academic. I have had direct and substantive engagement with inclusive excellence (IE) for 16 years.
Through my core commitments to IE, I strive: to advocate for my constituents, engage in research that amplifies the voice of people with multiple marginalized identities, teach classes that focus on cultural literacy and social justice, and help make institutional and structural changes from inside and outside of “the room” that will have lasting effects.
The knowledge, perspective, and edification that come from diverse encounters are not to be underestimated. They’re renewable, not finite, fuels for our growth and progress as a society.”
Education
Ph.D. in Human Communication (Culture and Communication Concentration), University of Denver, 2009
M.A. in Communication Studies, University of North Carolina Greensboro
Post-baccalaureate Certificate, Women’s and Gender Studies, University of North Carolina Greensboro
B.A. in Speech Communication, University of North Carolina Greensboro
Scholarly Interests
Culture/Identities and Communication, Communication Pedagogy, Interpersonal Communication, Intergenerational Communication, Critical-Qualitative and Auto-Performative Research Methodologies
Courses Taught
Fundamentals of Interpersonal Communication – CMM 213
Professional Presentations – CMM 302
Communication Consulting Strategies – CMM 602
Awards and Honors
“Textbook of Distinction Award.” Awarded by the Basic Course Division of the National Communication Association for Communication in the real world (2nd ed.) in November 2019.
“Achievement and Contribution Award.” In recognition of outstanding achievements and contributions in the areas of teaching, research, and service during the 2014-2015 academic year. Awarded by Eastern Illinois University, Fall 2017
Faculty Laureate (for commitment to general education), EIU, 2016-2017
“Achievement and Contribution Award.” In recognition of outstanding achievements and contributions in the areas of teaching, research, and service during the 2014-2015 academic year. Awarded by Eastern Illinois University, Fall 2015
“Jerry Mathis Outstanding Young Teacher Award.” Awarded by the Illinois Communication and Theatre Association, Naperville, IL, September 2012
“Achievement and Contribution Award.” In recognition of outstanding achievements and contributions in the areas of teaching, research, and service during the 2010-2011 academic year. Awarded by Eastern Illinois University, Fall 2011
“Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award” in recognition of distinguished contributions to the communication classroom. Awarded by the Rocky Mountain Communication Association, 2007- 2008
Selected Publications
Jones, R. G., Jr. (2023). Communication in the real world (3rd ed.). Flat World.
Jones, R. G., Jr. (2020). Teaching while vulnerable: Connection through shared vulnerability as a pedagogical stepping stone to queer consciousness. In D. S. Strasser (Ed.), Communication and identity in the classroom: Intersectional perspectives of critical pedagogy. Lexington Books.
Jones, R. G., Jr. (2020). Our communication, our world: An introduction to communication studies. Flat World. (all chapters peer-reviewed)
Jones, R. G., Jr., & Vajjala, E. (2018). Trauma, scandal, and murder: The carnival spectacle in Shondaland. In R. A. Griffin & M. D. E. Meyer (Eds.), Adventures in Shondaland: Identity politics and the power of representation, (pp. 23-41). Rutgers University Press.
Jones, R. G., Jr. (2015). Queering the body politic: Intersectional reflexivity in the body narratives of queer men. Qualitative Inquiry, 21(9), 766-775. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800415569782
Jones, R. G., Jr. (2014). Divided loyalties: Exploring the intersections of queerness, race, ethnicity, and gender. In S. C. Howard (Ed.), Critical articulations of race, gender, and sexual orientation (pp. 23-46). Lexington Books.
Jones, R. G., Jr., & Calafell, B. M. (2012). Contesting neoliberalism through critical pedagogy, intersectional reflexivity, and personal narrative: Queer tales of academia. Journal of Homosexuality, 59(7), 957-981. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2012.699835
Jones, R. G., Jr. (2010). Putting privilege into practice through “intersectional reflexivity”: Ruminations, interventions, and possibilities. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 16(1), 122-125. https://tinyurl.com/privilegeintopractice
Jones, R. G., Jr., & Foust, C. R. (2008). Staging and enforcing consumerism in the city: The performance of othering on the 16th Street Mall. Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies,
4(1). http://liminalities.net/4-1/16thstreet.pdf