Keri K. Stephens, PhD, is the George Christian Centennial Professor in Organizational Communication Technology, a UT Austin Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Co-Director of the Technology and Information Policy Institute at the Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin. With over 25 years of interdisciplinary research experience, Dr. Stephens’ expertise includes organizational communication, mobile technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), crisis and disaster communication, infrastructure communication, and health communication.
Dr. Stephens is an International Communication Association Fellow and has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and three academic books (with 2 more coming in 2026). She has received 24 top-paper panel awards and four article-of-the-year awards. Her research has attracted significant external funding, including 15 National Science Foundation (NSF) grants, 14 state grants, and various industry and foundation grants. She has delivered over 30 keynote talks internationally and across the U.S., including a TEDxTalk. Her community-engaged work has been recognized with awards from both the National and State Association of Counties.
In her professional service, Dr. Stephens has served on the National Academies’ Gulf Health and Resilience Board, the Texas Integrated Flooding Framework Technical Advisory Committee, and has held leadership roles such as Chair of the International Communication Association (ICA) Mobile Communication Division, Secretary of the ICA Organizational Communication Division, Chair of the Training and Development Division of National Communication Association (NCA), Associate Editor for Management Communication Quarterly. She is currently on eight journal editorial boards.
Dr. Stephens teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses in Organizational Communication, Communication Technologies, Crisis Communication, Disaster Communication and the Future, 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. Additionally, she has collaborated on publications with over 95 graduate students, 15 undergraduate students, and 12 industry/community partners.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
- Fellow, ICA
- Distinguished Partner, Institute for a Disaster Resilient Texas
- Edited Book of the Year for the Organizational Communication Division of NCA, New Media in Times of Crisis, Routledge.
- Book of the Year for the Human Communication & Technology Division of NCA, Negotiating Control: Organizations & Mobile Communication.
- Outstanding Book Award in the Organizational Communication Division of NCA, Negotiating Control: Organizations & Mobile Communication,
- Outstanding Mentor of the Year, Organizational Communication Division of NCA
- Academy of Distinguished Teachers, UT Austin
- President’s Associates Teaching Excellence Award, UT Austin
- Eyes of Texas Teaching and Mentoring Award, UT Austin
- UT Austin President’s Award for Global Learning, UT Austin
- UT Tower Award for an Outstanding Service-Learning Project, UT Austin
