R. Jarrod Atchison Assistant Professor of Speech Communication
B.A., Wake Forest University
M.A., Wake Forest University
Ph.D., University of Georgia email:jarrod.atchison@trinity.edu
Jarrod Atchison, Assistant Professor, is the new Director of Debate for Trinity University. He is originally from Shreveport, Louisiana. Jarrod earned his B.A. and M.A. in the Department of Communication at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. He was a Presidential Scholar and competed at the highest levels of intercollegiate debate while a student at Wake Forest. As a graduate student, Jarrod had the opportunity to coach successful debate teams at Wake Forest and the University of Georgia (where he earned his Ph.D. in Speech Communication). Jarrod joins Dr. Hansen as a scholar with a background in the study of rhetoric. He offers classes in argumentation, forensics, and political communication. Jarrod’s research focuses on nineteenth century American public address with an emphasis on the public discourse surrounding the Civil War. Any students interesting in becoming a part of the Trinity University Debate program should contact Dr. Atchison for more information.
Stacey Connelly Associate Professor of Theater and Director of Theater
» B.F.A., University of Oklahoma in Norman
» M.A., Ph.D., Indiana University, Bloomington email:sconnell@trinity.edu Vitae, Syllabi, and Articles
Stacey Connelly is an Associate Professor of Speech and Drama at Trinity University. She received her B.F.A. from the University of Oklahoma and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Theatre from Indiana University. Her teaching areas include dramatic literature, theatre history, and acting. Her scholarship and book reviews on the modern drama have appeared in various national journals. Specializing in German theatre between the two world wars, especially the work of Erwin Piscator and Bertolt Brecht, she has served as a Research Fellow for the German Academic Exchange Service in Berlin. Her other research interests include political theatre, plays and films about the AIDS epidemic, and the history and development of university speech and drama programs. She has taught and directed at Indiana University, Elmhurst College, and Loyola University of Chicago.
Timothy Francis Technical Director/Lighting Designer
» B.A., Arizona State University
» M.F.A., Rutgers University email:tfrancis@trinity.edu Tim's Website
Tim Francis, Technical Director/Lighting Designer, received his M.F.A. from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and his B.F.A. from Arizona State University. Since coming to Trinity in 1990 he has provided technical direction and designed lighting for our mainstage productions. He teaches in the areas of production techniques and lighting design in addition to overseeing Trinity's student-staffed scenic, lighting and prop shops. He has worked at a number of theatres on the East coast including the McCarter Theatre in Princeton NJ, the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick NJ, the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and many off-off Broadway theatres in New York. He has also worked for LASERMEDIA in New York where he designed laser and lighting shows. Locally, he designs lighting at area theatres and acts as a technical coordinator and consultant for various entertainment projects.
As a performance artist, storyteller and educator, Sam Carter Gilliam’s career is rooted in the arts. Sam earned a Master of Arts degree from Trinity in 1981; however, her career in the professional theatre and arts education spans over 30 years. Sam has performed throughout the United States, including Florida, Georgia, Virginia, New York, Michigan, Colorado, New Jersey and Washington. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the national union of professional actors. Her custom designed workshops and performances offer a unique blend of scholarly research and content within theatrical performance.
Andrew C. Hansen Associate Professor of Speech Communication
» B.A., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
» M.A., University of Wisconsin, Madison
» Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University email:andrew.hansen@trinity.edu Andrew's Website
Andrew Hansen, Associate Professor, is a transplanted Wisconsinite who is now firmly rooted in San Antonio. He earned his B.A. in literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his M.A. in literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After discovering his orientation to language better fit the field of rhetorical studies, Dr. Hansen earned an M.A. in rhetoric in the Communication Arts department at UW-Madison and finished his Ph.D. in rhetoric in the Department of Speech Communication at Penn State. The advisor to Trinity’s chapter of the National Communication Association Honorary Society, Lambda Pi Eta, Dr. Hansen regularly offers courses on political communication, communication theories, argumentation, rhetorical criticism, and a two semester course on the history of rhetorical theory. Focusing on the public address of nineteenth-century America and Great Britain, Dr. Hansen has published in Philosophy and Rhetoric, Language and Literature, Western Journal of Communication, and Rhetoric Review. His present research interests include the public address of scientific discourse, the nature of rhetorical criticism, and the relationship of poetics and rhetoric. Dr. Hansen has received the Carroll C. Arnold Award, the Wrage-Bakersville Award, and recognition from the American Society for the History of Rhetoric.
L. Brooks Hill Professor of Speech Communication and Chair
» B.A., University of Memphis
» M.A., University of Alabama
» Ph.D., University of Illinois email:lhill@trinity.edu Vitae, Syllabi, and Articles
Brooks Hill earned his graduate degrees in communication and linguistics. He teaches in the Speech Communication Program at Trinity University. His areas of specialization are public and intercultural/international communication. He has taught at the graduate and undergraduate level in these areas for over thirty-seven years. He has served government and industry as a consultant, trainer, and researcher. His scholarship includes three books; over fifty articles, chapters or monographs, and over seventy convention papers and reviews. Most recently he has written about a new perspective for the study of intercultural communication and about ethnic humor. Currently, he is studying how rationality can restrict our creativity and is helping to develop a center for entrepreneurial studies at Trinity. In 2003 he received the prestigious Dr. and Mrs. Z. T. Scott Award, Trinity’s highest recognition for teaching and advising. He is currently concluding his eighteenth year as Chair of the Department of Speech and Drama at Trinity. He spent the preceding twenty years of his professional career in the Department of Communication at the University of Oklahoma.
Jodi Karjala, Costume Designer and Costumer, received her B.A. from Bemidji State University and her M.F.A. from Northwestern University. She provides the costume designs for our main stage productions and teaches in the areas of Costume Design and Costume Technology. She has worked for a number of theatres all over the country, including Borderlands Theatre, The Arizona Theatre Company and Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. She also worked for VEE Costumes and Creatures in Minneapolis, where she had the privilege to work on some of the puppets for the Broadway production of The Lion King.
Martin Kushner was born in New York City and moved to Miami , Florida during his childhood. After completing his undergraduate education, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Miami , he was employed by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) as a credit union examiner in Miami . After transfers to Birmingham and Mobile , Alabama , he accepted a headquarters position with NCUA in Washington , DC . During his 25-years in the DC area, he held numerous positions, including Financial Analyst, Training Coordinator and eventually Director of Technical Examiner Training.
Martin’s theater career began in 1970 as a volunteer in community theater. Since that time, he has acted, stage managed, designed and built sets, designed sound and produced numerous shows for community theater and opera organizations from which he has received numerous awards. On the business side of theater, Martin has served on the Board of Directors and as Treasurer of theaters. In these positions, he has organized and established procedures for booth box office and front of house operations. In his current position at Trinity University , Martin is responsible for Trinity Theater’s box office, front of house and publicity.
John M. McGrath Associate Professor of Speech Communication
» B.S., Kansas State University
» M.A., Ph.D., University of Kansas email:jmcgrath@trinity.edu John's Website
John McGrath received his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas, where he was awarded the E.C. Buehler Fellowship for Teaching Excellence. Trained as a social scientist, he teaches in the areas of interpersonal, small group, and organizational communication, and he helps administer Trinity’s interdisciplinary minor in Communication Management. Recently, his research has focused on information technology in health care, and he has published articles in Qualitative Health Research, The Journal on Information Technology in Heath Care, Education for Health, The Journal of Informatics in Primary Care, and Health Informatics Journal. Dr. McGrath also has published a series of articles on the effectiveness of consumer product warnings, and he serves as an expert witness in products liability litigation.
Susanna Morrow Assistant Professor of Theater
» B.A., University of Dallas
» M.F.A., University of California, Irvine
» Ph.D., University of Colorado, Boulder email:susanna.morrow@trinity.edu Vitae, Syllabi, and Articles
Susanna Morrow is a teacher, scholar, actor, dancer and performance artist. She specializes in acting, movement, voice, and original performance composition. Her teaching interests include contemporary and classical acting, theater literature, performance art, women’s studies, non-western theater, and transformational theater. Her scholarship focuses on acting theory and pedagogy, specifically contemporary performer training in physical theater and improvisation. She has worked professionally as an actor and a dancer in the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, and Women in Tap.
Roberto Prestigiacomo teaches directing, acting, physical theatre, community-based theatre, and contemporary performance. His research includes Directing Pragmatics, the Sicilian tradition of the Cantastorie, and the contemporary Italian theatre. In addition to directing, his creative work includes the development of community-based theatre through improvisation and storytelling techniques, and the creation of original physical theatre pieces (TransPerformance). Directing credits (representative): Julius Caesar, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, The Triumph of Love, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Marisol, How I Learned to Drive, One for the Road, Fat Pig. Original works: pastiche, Sabbia, Guernika.
His creative work includes the development of community-based theatre through improvisation and storytelling techniques, and the creation of original physical theatre pieces (TransPerformance). Roberto, a produced playwright, was artistic director for Theater With Your Coffee and Potlatch Theater Lab, both in South Florida. He is a member of Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSDC), American Association of Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), and is a native of Rome, Italy.
Lupita Puente has advanced through several positions during her twenty three years at Trinity. She began her work as a clerical typist in the Department of Computer Science in 1984. Two years later, she was promoted to the role of Secretary in what is now the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. From there she was promoted to Senior Secretary for The Tomas Rivera Center where she served for six years before her assignment to Distinguished Professor Arturo Madrid. After two years with Dr. Madrid, she became the Schedule Coordinator in the Registrar’s Office; she served in that role from 1997 until 1999 when she moved into her current position as the Administrative Assistant for the Department of Speech and Drama.
David L. Rinear Professor of Theater
» B.A., Hiram College
» M.A., University of California, Davis
» Ph.D., Indiana University email:drinear@trinity.edu David's Website
David Rinear, Professor, received his B.A. from Hiram College, his M.A. from the University of California at Davis, and his Ph.D. from Indiana University. He teaches in the area of acting, directing, theatre history, and dramatic literature/theory. The author of two books on the history of the American Theatre, he has also published monographs in all of the leading journals of theatre history and dramatic literature. His professional acting and directing credits for both stage and screen are numerous.
