Teresa Morales, Ph.D.

Dr. Teresa Morales is a communication arts professor at Wayne State College, having joined the faculty in 2016. She previously taught at Cameron University in Lawton, Okla. Morales’ specialty is in rhetoric, the study of how we persuade communicatively. Her dissertation, "The Last Stone is Just the Beginning: A Rhetorical Biography of Washington National Cathedral," was written as a means to understand how a religious building speaks to the nation in times of upheaval and insecurity.

Morales has presented her work at National Communication Association conferences, Religious Communication Association conferences, Southern States Communication Association conferences, and Rhetorical Society conferences. Her focus is religious rhetoric with her latest work concentrating on the rhetoric of abortion and life. She also is working collaboratively with Dr. Randa Garden in the communication (and rhetoric) of aging and elder abuse.

Morales’ interests lie in all things rhetorical, persuasive, and leadership oriented. In addition to teaching CNA 100 Principles of Human Communication, she also teaches Public Address, Argumentation, Persuasion, the Rhetoric of Civic Life, Professional Presentations, Language and Human Behavior, Organizational Leadership, Leadership Theory, and Case Studies in Organizational Leadership. Morales seeks to advance the leadership relationship between WSC students and the City of Wayne. Her leadership classes sponsor World Speech Day (a global event) each March 15.

Education
Ph.D. Communication (rhetoric emphasis) – Georgia State University, 2013
M.A. Communication Studies, Texas State University-San Marcos, 2008
B.A. Communication, Texas State University-San Marcos (formerly Southwest Texas State University), 1996

Teaching Philosophy
Morales' no. 1 priority in the classroom is to make student brains hurt through active intellectual investigation, analysis, and interpretation of the meanings associated with communication and human behavior. All behavior is communication; one cannot not communicate. She tries to create a classroom environment that encourages critical thinking and creative analysis. Thus, the only bad questions are questions gone unasked. While she expects mutual respect from all her students, she also encourages them to challenge the status quo and move beyond over-simplistic interpretations of communication and human behavior, to “think out loud,” or pose new theories for class discussion. We work on applying previous knowledge to create new sources of knowledge without using the horrible words of “I think,” “I believe,” “I feel,” or “My opinion is,” she says. She believes in giving her students a Harvard education at a Wayne State College price.