Becky Kuehl
Associate Academic Director/Professor
Biography
Dr. Rebecca A. Kuehl is associate academic director and professor in the School of Communication and Journalism at ºù«Ӱҵ. She also teaches in women, gender and sexuality studies at SDSU. Her research focuses on intersections among rhetorical citizenship and public deliberation, civic rhetoric and education, workplace cultural diversity and community inclusion and women’s health discourses such as childbirth and breastfeeding. Her research has been funded by two Community Innovation Grants from the Bush Foundation. Her research has appeared in edited books, including Rhetoric: Concord and Controversy, Contemporary Rhetorical Citizenship, Speech and Debate as Civic Education and The Rhetoric of Health and Medicine As/Is. Her research has also appeared in Human Communication Research, Rhetoric of Health and Medicine, Southern Communication Journal, Communication Quarterly, Communication Design Quarterly Review, Health Communication, Translational Behavioral Medicine and the Journal of Human Lactation.
Education
- B.A. in communication studies with honors | Gustavus Adolphus College | 2005
- M.A. in speech communication | University of Georgia | 2007
- Ph.D. in communication studies | University of Minnesota | 2011
Academic and Professional Experience
Academic Interests
- Rhetorical citizenship
- Public dialogue and deliberation
- Civic education
- Women's health
Academic Responsibilities
- CMST 101: Fundamentals of Speech
- CMST 215: Public Speaking
- CMST 222: Argumentation and Debate
- CMST/WMST 415-515: Communication and Gender
- CMST 416-516: Rhetorical Criticism
- CMST 470: Intercultural Communication
- CMST 470: Honors Intercultural Communication
- CMST 492-592: Topics: Pop Culture and Communication
- CMST 701: Intro to Graduate Studies
- CMST 792: Topics: Graduate Writing Seminar
- CMST 792: Topics: Rhetorical Citizenship
Committees and Professional Memberships
Committees
- Brookings Inclusive Collaborative
- Brookings Supports Breastfeeding
- ºù«Ӱҵ Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Coalition
Professional Memberships
- National Communication Association
- Central States Communication Association
- Speech Communication Association of South Dakota
Work Experience
- Graduate school fellow, University of Minnesota
- Graduate instructor, University of Minnesota
- Research assistant and teaching assistant, University of Georgia
Research and Scholar Work
Areas of Research
- Rhetorical citizenship
- Public deliberation
- Civic education
- Women's health discourses
I have been involved in a variety of community-based research partnerships while at SDSU, including with the South Dakota Department of Health, Brookings Health System, the Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce, Brookings Economic Development Corporation, Vision Brookings and the Brookings Human Rights Commission.
Awards and Honors
- 2023, F. O. Butler Award for Excellence in Teaching, ºù«Ӱҵ
- 2023, Sewrey Colloquium on Research and Scholarship (with Dr. Molly Enz), ºù«Ӱҵ
- 2022, Award for Outstanding Service to College, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, ºù«Ӱҵ
- 2022, Sewrey Colloquium on Teaching and Learning, ºù«Ӱҵ
- 2022, Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College Faculty Mentor, ºù«Ӱҵ
- 2021, Edward Patrick Hogan Award for Excellence in Teaching, ºù«Ӱҵ
Grants
- Enz, M. K., Kuehl, R. A. and Andrews, J. Supporting Caregiving and Employee Wellbeing: Visions of a Healthy University. Karen McComish Interdisciplinary Faculty Research Program Fund Proposal, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences internal grant, May 2024 – August 2024, $3,441.
- Neubauer, M. and Kuehl, R. A. Brookings Public Library and Brookings Inclusive Collaborative: Brookings Community Intergroup Dialogues. South Dakota Humanities Council external grant, June - October 2023, $3,725.
- Enz, M. K., Kuehl, R. A., Hanson, J. and Moore, E. Working caregivers in the age of COVID-19: Perspectives from ºù«Ӱҵ employees. Collaborative Scholarship Fund Proposal, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences internal grant, May 2021 – August 2021, $2,927.
- Kuehl, R. A., Enz, M., Drury, S. A. M., Lammers, A., Garst-Santos, C., Williams, K., Rovai, M., Doom, K., Heuton, A., Hauge, S., Petterson, D., Rhodes, M., Plummer, L., Torres Chan, S. and Whitehead, L. Deliberating diversity: Communicating about our community climate to enhance inclusion in Brookings businesses. Bush Foundation Community Innovation external grant, February 2020 – December 2022, $193,256.
Publications
- Kuehl, R. A., Anderson, J. and Hanson, S. (2025, accepted). Communication about perinatal mental health disorders in the rural United States: Narrative and social support as communication strategies. Rhetoric of Health and Medicine, special issue on rural health, forthcoming.
- Kuehl, R. A., Enz, M. K. and Drury, S. A. M. (2023). . Human Communication Research, online first. DOI: 10.1093/hcr/hqad006.
- Kuehl, R. A. (2022). . Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 21(4). DOI: 10.14434/josotl.v21i4.32673.
- Kuehl, R. A. and Knippling, O. R. (2021). . Discourse: The Journal of the Speech Communication Association of South Dakota, 6, Article 1.
CV
Associated Areas
