Time and again, Communication Studies students describe the closeness they feel in our program, classes, and with the COMST faculty and staff. Our program works hard to create a sense of family and camaraderie, and we are able to do that by retaining amazing faculty. Dr. Stacy Tye-Williams (she/her/hers) has been teaching for many years, with a full decade of service right here in the Communication Studies Program at Iowa State.
“I started out in pre-physical therapy and took a communication course at the University of Iowa and was hooked,” Dr. Tye-Williams recalls of her undergraduate education. “[I] went on to get my MA at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee because at that time I wanted to go into training and consulting. They put me in the classroom as a TA and I fell in love with teaching, so I decided to get my PhD at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Now I get to teach and also do some consulting on the side.”
Although her education journey sent her to universities outside of Iowa, Dr. Tye-Williams was thankful to return to Iowa and land a job at Iowa State ten years ago. “My husband and I are both originally from Iowa and always hoped we would be able to end up here again. I saw a job announcement for a job at Iowa State and went for it. Here I am ten years later and have loved each year. I may be biased, but we have the best students and I feel very fortunate to get to learn with them!”
Dr. Tye-Williams specializes in organizational communication, and therefore teaches COMST 314 “Organizational Communication” almost every semester. “People don’t really know what that means,” she jokes. “It is basically about how we communicate to accomplish goals in organizations and the way that communication can hinder our ability to get things done. I firmly believe that if you understand communication and can determine ways to solve communication problems in organizations you will be such an asset to employers.”
However, Dr. Tye-Williams’s enthusiasm for communication extends past her degree and specialty. “I also love teaching small group communication, theory, gender… I guess I like them all! My main research area is workplace bullying and conflict… I have one of the coolest jobs!””
When asked what her favorite thing about teaching for Communication Studies at ISU is, Dr. Tye-Williams enthusiastically shares, “Hands down our students! They are awesome!”
Dr. Tye-Williams knows that ISU is the best place for her and for students seeking skills in the field of communication. “This program has dedicated instructors who truly care about their students. It has been a great honor and pleasure to work at ISU!”