Rate My Professor Truman Keys

Truman R. Keys, Ph.D., serves as Professor of Communication in the Communications, Marketing, and Public Affairs faculty at Western Connecticut State University. He joined the Department of Communication and Media Arts in 2008 as Assistant Professor, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2013, and to full Professor as listed in the university's 2025-2026 undergraduate catalog. Dr. Keys earned his Ph.D. in Communication and Culture, with research tracks in Communication & Culture and Health Communication, from Howard University in 2008, where his dissertation examined culture, communication, and competence in the American health care provider-recipient relationship. He holds an M.A. in Multicultural Communication and Corporate Communication from DePaul University (2005) and a B.S. in Advertising with a minor in International Relations from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2002). Prior to WCSU, he taught at Emerson College, Howard University, and DePaul University, delivering courses in speech communication, intercultural communication, and research methods.

Dr. Keys' academic interests center on communication dynamics among individuals from diverse social and cultural identities, encompassing race/ethnicity, income level, educational background, family types, and body politics, and their influence on self-esteem and relationship development in organizations and society. He teaches courses including Communication Theory, Research Methods in Communication, Organizational Communication, Intercultural Communication, Health Communication, Business & Professional Speaking, and Special Topics in Public Relations. His scholarly contributions include peer-reviewed publications such as "Black youth’s personal involvement in the HIV/AIDS issue: Does the public service announcement still work?" in the Journal of Health Communication (2009, with K.M. Morant and C.A. Stroman), "Behaviors that eliminate health disparities for racial and ethnic minorities: A narrative systematic review" (2010), and "Say what you mean: Confronting ambiguity in language" (2011). Dr. Keys has been honored with the Top Student Paper Award from the National Communication Association's African American Communication and Culture Division (2006), First Place Doctoral Oral Presentation Award at Howard University (2007), and Pre-Doctoral Fellowship (2007-2008). He has presented extensively at the Eastern Communication Association on topics like mental health stigma, LGBT safe spaces, and celebrity illness narratives, and secured internal grants for research on campus safe spaces and mental health service utilization.