Rhetoric and Communication Studies Department
Chair: Judy Holiday
Regular Faculty: Kristine Butterly, Judy Holiday, Jennifer Jared, Joshua Jensen, Jacqueline Kozak, Ian Lising, Mathew Schaupp
Adjunct Faculty: Mikayla Holzinger
The Department of Rhetoric and Communication Studies (RCS) fosters the study and practice of rhetoric, which for more than two thousand years has been defined as the study and art of persuasion. Rhetoric describes how people use language and symbols to make meaning and thus explains why individuals and groups hold the perspectives and values they do. As such, the study of rhetoric and communication is grounded in the everyday practices and understandings of people as social actors. Rhetoric and communication studies provides students with invaluable tools to better understand themselves, others, and the world around them.
Offering a major, minor, and numerous electives, the department promotes engagement with a variety of theoretical and applied approaches to human communication, including intercultural, interpersonal, organizational, professional, and nonverbal forms of communication. RCS departmental courses encourage students to become effective, ethical, and reflective communicators in their academic, professional, personal, and civic lives. Because of its broad applicability across industries and professions, and its integral role in virtually every human endeavor, rhetoric and communication studies remains a foundational course of study.
The department sponsors the La Verne Debate Team, which competes nationally and internationally and is open to students of all majors and colleges.