Keri K. Stephens, PhD, is a Professor in Organizational Communication Technology, a Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Co-Director of the Technology and Information Policy Institute in the Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin. For over 20 years her research has brought together different strands of communication inquiry—i.e., organizations, mobile technologies and artificial intelligence (AI), crisis/disasters, and health—and her reach extends well beyond the field of communication. Her two most recent books (Negotiating Control: Organizations and Mobile Communication, Oxford U Press and New Media in Times of Crisis, Routledge) have won three national-level awards, and she has received four article-of-the-year awards and 23 top-paper panel awards. Her research has garnered considerable external funding including 12 National Science Foundation (NSF) Grants, 12 State Grants, as well as industry and foundation funding. She has given over 30 international and US-based keynote talks, a TEDxTalk, and her community-engaged work has received awards from both the National and State Association of Counties. She is a former Chair of the ICA Mobile Communication Division, Secretary of the ICA Organizational Communication Division, Chair of the Training and Development Division of NCA, and Associate Editor for Management Communication Quarterly.
Stephens teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in Organizational Communication, Communication Technologies, Grant Writing, Communicating to Build Sales Relationships, and Communication Studies Internships. She is the founding Co-Chair of the joint McCombs-Moody Professional Sales & Business Development Minor, and she has published with over 70 different graduate students, 15 undergraduate students, and 9 industry/community collaborators. Her teaching has been honored at the University level with the President’s Associates Teaching Excellence Award, the Eyes of Texas Teaching and Mentoring Award, and the Academy of Distinguished Teachers at UT Austin. She was recently selected for the NCA Organizational Communication Division’s Outstanding Mentor of the Year Award.
