Rate My Professor Katherine Hampsten

Katherine Hampsten, Ph.D., is a Professor of Communication Studies at St. Mary's University of San Antonio, part of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. She earned her Ph.D. from Texas A&M University and both her M.A. and B.A. from Baylor University. At St. Mary’s, Hampsten has demonstrated leadership through various administrative positions, such as Assistant Department Chair, Graduate Program Director for the Master of Arts in Communication Studies, Academic Assessment Coordinator, and Assistant Dean. In 2016, she was honored with the St. Mary’s Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching. Previously serving as Associate Professor of English and Communication Studies, she contributes to multiple programs including the B.A. in Communication Studies, B.A. in English Communication, M.A. in Communication Studies, and Graduate Certificate in Public Communication, Public Policy, and Public Leadership. Hampsten teaches essential courses like Fundamentals of Human Communication, Communication Research Methods, Communication Theory, and Organizational Communication.

Hampsten's research and teaching emphasize the intersections of communication, gender, and work. She has presented numerous papers at national and regional conferences, including top paper and top panel awards from the National Communication Association (NCA) and Central States Communication Association (CSCA). Her publication record includes two refereed books: Communicating Online: Theories and Applications (Kendall Hunt, 2024) and co-edited Teaching Popular Culture in the Humanities Classroom (Lexington Books, 2025). Key book chapters comprise “Good Mothering and the Question of Migrant Mothers at the Border” in Beyond Biology: Rhetorics of Motherhood in the 21st Century (Routledge, 2023) and “Revisiting Representations of Sarah Palin as the Ideal Working Mother” in Gender, Sexuality and Race in American Politics (Lexington Books, 2019). Additionally, she has published articles in leading journals, such as “Embracing Discomfort and Resisting a Return to the ‘Good Old Days’” in Communication Education (2021) and “Challenges in Working with Portraiture” in Journal of Applied Communication Research (2015).