Rate Professor John Murphy

Academic Profile

Academic Background: Ph.D., Speech Communication, University of Kansas, 1983; M.A., Speech Communication, University of Kansas, 1980; B.A., Communication Studies, University of Northern Iowa, 1978.

Research Interests: Rhetorical theory, political communication, and public address, with emphasis on U.S. presidential rhetoric and social movements.

Appointments: Professor, Department of Communication, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2005–present; Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Communication, 2015–2018.

Awards: National Communication Association Distinguished Scholar Award, 2020; Golden Anniversary Monograph Award, 2016.

Publications: Author of The Making of a President: Barack Obama’s Rhetorical Journey (Oxford University Press, 2015); articles in Quarterly Journal of Speech and Rhetoric & Public Affairs.

Editorial Contributions: Editorial board member, Rhetoric Society Quarterly, 2010–present.

Additional Contributions: Delivered keynote address at the Rhetoric Society of America Conference, 2018.