Many doctoral students in the College of Media & Communication Doctoral Program share the attributes of dedication, intellectual curiosity and the willingness to
grow as educators and researchers in the field of communication. A stand-out alumna
who embodies these characteristics and more is Rebecca Densley, who earned her Ph.D.
earlier this year.
Densley has accepted a position as an assistant professor at Trinity University in
San Antonio, where she teaches advertising campaigns and mass media courses to undergraduate
students. She is also starting a new research lab focused on children and media at
the university.
“I'm excited to get this new lab up and running,” Densley said. “It will be a challenge,
but I know that I'll grow as a researcher, and I'm excited to get the community engaged
with children and media research.”
Densley attributes her opportunity to work at Trinity University to her time as a
doctoral student in the CoMC program. She stated that one faculty member who molded
her experiences in the program was Eric Rasmussen, Ph.D., director of the doctoral program.
“I had the opportunity to work under the tutelage of Dr. Rasmussen,” Densley said.
“He is a prolific researcher, and he was quick to let me join many of his research
projects right when I got to Texas Tech. He has been a fantastic mentor, and I have
to thank him for so much of what I have learned there.”
During her time as a doctoral student, Densley also worked with Shannon Bichard, Ph.D., advertising department chair, in advising the Bullet Ad Team to prepare for the
National Student Advertising Competition and worked with CoMC students from the beginning
of the campaign to its completion in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Densley also focused on learning how to more effectively teach in the classroom and wasselected
as a fellow for the TEACH program, a competitive fellowship for doctoral students
run by the university's Teaching, Learning and Professional Development Center.
“In this program, I worked with teaching consultants to discuss ways to improve my
teaching and received detailed feedback from my students,” Densley said. “As a TEACH
fellow, I discovered that my greatest strengths as an instructor are in my ability
to create and administer meaningful active learning experiences.”
Looking back, Densley detailed many positive experiences about the CoMC doctoral program.
“The best thing about this program is the amazing people,” she said. “I had the opportunity
to work with some fantastic faculty who helped me figure out what I am most passionate
about and kindly guided me along the way. I also felt that I could choose what I wanted
out of the program, and I had the freedom to go for just that. It was an ideal graduate
experience for me.”
“I grew so much in my time [at Texas Tech], and I'm so grateful for the people I met
along the way and the support that I've received here over the years,” Densley said.
“I will always look back on my time in the program with gratitude.”
To learn more about the CoMC Ph.D. program, visit:
https://www.depts.ttu.edu/comc/graduate/phd/index.php