Rate My Professor Penni Pier

Dr. Penni Pier serves as the Grant L. Price Endowed Department Chair and Professor of Journalism and Communication in the Department of Journalism and Communication at Wartburg College, where she joined the faculty in 2000. She earned her B.A. in Speech Communication from Minnesota State University-Moorhead in 1993, M.A. in Communication from Missouri State University in 1995, and Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2000. In her teaching role, Pier offers a variety of communication courses with a particular emphasis on public relations courses and the departmental capstone. She coordinates the oral communication course in the THRIVE general education plan and the Oral Communication Across the Curriculum component of the Essential Education Plan. Additionally, she directs the women’s and gender studies program and acts as the executive director of Knight Vision streaming. Pier advises the Public Relations Student Society of America chapter and the Tower Agency, a student-run public relations firm, fostering practical experience for students.

Pier is the co-author of three books: Campaign ’96, The Primary Decision: A Functional Analysis of Debates in Presidential Primaries, and Campaign 2000. Her scholarly work has been published in prominent journals including Political Communication, Communication Quarterly, Quarterly Journal of Speech, and Public Services Quarterly. She regularly presents research at conferences of the National Communication Association and the Iowa Communication Association. In professional leadership, Pier serves on the Executive Board of the Mid American Forensics League, is a past president of the Iowa Intercollegiate Forensics Association, and sits on the Publications Board of the American Forensics Association. She maintains memberships in the Public Relations Society of America, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the National Communication Association, and the International Communication Association. Furthermore, she contributes to numerous professional and community boards, enhancing her impact in the field of communication studies and education.