Natalie Tindall named chair of Department of Communication
Lamar University welcomes Natalie Tindall as chair of the Department of Communication. Tindall was most recently a faculty member of Georgia State University, where she was co-director of the communication graduate program.
"Dr. Tindall is a nationally renowned scholar in her field, and she brings a unique curriculum perspective to her department,” said Derina Holtzhausen, dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication. “These are two areas in which her leadership will be very valuable."
Tindall earned an M.A. in mass communication at the University of South Florida and a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Maryland. Her areas of specialty include identity, diversity and power in the public relations function; identity and health messages; fundraising and philanthropy; organizational culture and stereotypes within historically black fraternities and sororities; and the intersection of public relations and marketing to minority health.
An author of numerous chapters and online publications, Tindall has also published articles in peer-reviewed journals, including the “Journal of Public Relations Research,” “Public Relations Review,” “Public Relations Journal,” “Howard Journal of Communications,” “Prism” and the “International Journal of Strategic Communication.”
“I have been intrigued with difference and diversity since my graduate work at the University of South Florida, and the issues of diversity in public relations, mass communication and higher education will continue to be integral to my research trajectory,” said Tindall. “Most of the historical frameworks that have defined public relations and higher education neglect to include voices and viewpoints that differ from the standard prototype. My scholarly work in this area has been dedicated to bringing the marginalized voices of practitioners and professors to the forefront, to understand the perspectives of organizations that are overlooked or deemed as trivial, and to comprehend how difference and diversity are managed in majority-dominant organizational cultures.”
Tindall served as the chair of the Public Relations Society of America Diversity Committee, a member of the Public Relations Society of America Work, Life and Gender Task Force, and the 2013-2014 Head of the Public Relations Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. She was elected to the AEJMC Standing Committee for Teaching and continues to serve on the PRSA Diversity Committee, PRSA Work, Life & Gender Task Force, the Delta Research Education Foundation’s Sister Scholars Advisory Board, and the national executive board of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
“I think Dr. Tindall’s focus on social justice is a perfect fit for our college,” said Dean Holtzhausen. “She has a very future-oriented perspective on where the field of communication is going, with regard to management and strategic communication.”
Tindall recently completed her move from Atlanta, Ga., to Beaumont, and is looking forward to the start of the new academic year at Lamar University.
“Thank you to the LU community for the warm welcome,” said Tindall. “I look forward to the opportunity to work with faculty, students, staff and the wider community as we work to build a strong academic program that will serve our students, deepen our ties to the local and regional community, engage our alumni, and raise the profile of the department and the institution.”
Tindall is also the owner of Rock Paper Scissors Consulting, runs The Tenured Entrepreneur blog and is the chief maker-in-charge for Divine Bath and Body. A former contestant on “College Jeopardy!,” she enjoys playing pub trivia, is a triathlete and former half-marathon participant through Team in Training, to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and counts knitting, crafting, baking and reading among her hobbies.
The Department of Communication at Lamar prepares students for careers in advertising, broadcasting, corporate communication, film, journalism and public relations. For more information, visit lamar.edu/communication.
