When Professor Jenny Crowley stepped into the role of coordinator of graduate studies for the School of Communication Studies, she did it with a deep belief in the positive impact of mentorship.
“I really care about graduate education, graduate advising, and I feel like I got really good mentorship as a graduate student and want to pay it forward,” she said.
This, along with a desire to elevate the College of Communication and Information’s doctoral program, is why Crowley applied to host the National Communication Association Doctoral Honors Seminar. Her proposal to host the event was selected for both 2025 and 2027—something Crowley noted is rare and was made possible due to the support and encouragement she received from CCI Dean Joe Mazer, as the seminar requires space and resources to be successful.
The 2025 seminar occurred in June with 30 doctoral students attending and nine respected scholars from throughout the country participating as mentors and panelists throughout the sessions. Crowley said the scholars are well-published and have impressive CVs with their work centering around three areas: interpersonal and organizational communication; media; and rhetoric and performance studies.
Attendees said one of the biggest draws of the seminar is the rare opportunity to have in-depth conversations with both their peers and leading scholars in the field.
“Connecting with other doctoral students and scholars from across the country who I wouldn’t otherwise have had the ability to get to know was amazing. Everyone quickly formed a strong bond that resulted in a highly supportive environment for discussions related to feedback and growth as young researchers,” said Carla White, a CCI doctoral student.
The seminar is so selective that attendee Amarichi Nina Uma Mba, a PhD student in the Department of Communication Studies at West Virginia University, said she re-read her letter of acceptance several times upon receiving it as she was so excited to be chosen to attend. Crowley said every applicant submits a research proposal as part of their application that they will present and workshop at the seminar, and many, like Mba, use their dissertation topic.
“One of the most meaningful parts of the seminar was the group paper discussions. As someone working in health communication, particularly in areas such as misinformation, patient-provider communication, and culturally grounded messaging, the diversity of thought in the room prompted me to consider new angles I hadn’t previously considered,” she said. “The feedback sparked fresh ideas for my dissertation, gave me clarity on some theoretical gaps, and recharged my creativity.”
Besides intensive mentoring and discussion around their research, students attended sessions that spoke to career development and what academic life is like, providing insight into their future profession. Matthew Witowski is also in the doctoral program at the University of West Virginia, and he echoed White and Mba’s sentiments that networking with other students and renowned academics was invaluable.
For Victoria Tierre Fields, a doctoral student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the mentorship and peer feedback “felt like a warm embrace full of constructive criticism, hope, joy, and optimism.” She used her dissertation as her project at the seminar and said the experience strengthened her theoretical framework. She encourages any student interested in applying to the seminar to take the leap and even had some advice: “To future doctoral students who are applying to the NCA Doctoral Honors Seminars, take time to reflect on the purpose and goals of your research, be open to collaboration and new theoretical perspectives, do not be afraid if you are still figuring out the direction of your research project or dissertation, and ultimately, be yourself!” she said.
Crowley said one aspect of the seminar she planned that helped CCI’s chances in being selected as a host was the inclusion of a fun reception for all the attendees, scholars, and CCI faculty, staff, and graduate students. She said the CCI graduate students who were not participating in the seminar were thrilled to have the chance to network with all the people who came to the seminar. Everyone who participated in the seminar said there were many positive aspects but walking away with new contacts in their area of study is one that will make a lasting impact.
Case in point, White said she is now part of a virtual writing group with other DHS members and meets with them weekly to encourage and support each other as they continue work on their research projects. She said she felt inspired and motivated as she continues her academic journey.
These impressions were exactly the type of outcome intended for the seminar, Crowley said. While planning the event was a lot of work, it paid off, and she expects the 2027 NCA Doctoral Honors Seminar to be even better as this first round gave her more ideas to make it the best experience possible for everyone involved.
In the end, she hopes her efforts will help shape the next generation of academics and researchers in communication as well as elevate the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s PhD program in communication and information.
“I’m just really passionate about graduate students and graduating mentoring; it’s my favorite part of the job. If I ever pursue an event or take an initiative on my own, it will be one that focuses on graduate education—that just really speaks to me,” Crowley said.“I learned more about the discipline, about research, about the job market, and more. However, to me, the most impactful part of the seminar was being able to get to know and network with a number of brilliant individuals at the peer and mentor level, from a diverse range of universities and communicative specialties. We’re in the business of people and you never know where a connection may help you down the road,” he said, noting the atmosphere of the seminar was great and made it easy to learn a lot in a short amount of time.