Dr. Carrisa Hoelscher

Department

Graduate College

Role: Faculty
Campus: Springfield

Postal mail

Missouri State University
Graduate College
901 S. National Ave.
Springfield, MO 65897

Biography

Dr. Carrisa S. Hoelscher is an associate professor of communication and the associate dean of the Graduate College at Missouri State University. Her research utilizes tension-centered, interpretive inquiry to examine communication-based issues in the context of non-traditional or unique groups, organizations, and/or interorganizational collaborations. She has published research in academic journals such as Human Relations, Management Communication Quarterly, the Journal of Applied Communication Research, Small Group Research, and Communication Reports. She is also the co-author of a recent small group communication textbook titled Communicating in Groups: Applications and Skills.

Details

Education

  • PhD, Organizational Communication, 2016, The University of Oklahoma
  • MA, Communication, 2010, West Texas A&M University
  • BS, English, 2008, West Texas A&M University

Teaching

  • COM 736 Concepts and Analysis of Communication in Organizations
  • COM 732 Theories and Concepts of Small Group Communication
  • COM 718 Applied Communication Research Methods
  • COM 701 Introduction to Graduate Studies
  • COM 436 Communication and Leadership
  • COM 336 Communication in Organizations
  • COM 332 Small Group Communication
  • COM 315 Advanced Speaking in Professional Settings

Professional experience

  • Zanin, A. C., Hoelscher, C. S., & Wilcoxon, S. (forthcoming). We created the policy, so we don’t need to use it: A qualitative case study of consent policy implementation. Journal of Applied Communication Research.
  • Hoelscher, C. S., Adams, K. L., & Galanes, G. (2025). Communicating in groups: Applications and skills (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
  • Hoelscher, C. S., Spates, S. A., Adams, K. L., & Galanes, G. (2024). Effective group discussions: Theory and practices (16th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
  • Ott, B. L., & Hoelscher, C. S. (2023). The digital authoritarian: On the evolution and spread of toxic leadership. World, 4, 726-744. https://doi.org/10.3390/world4040046
  • Hoelscher, C. S. (2019). Collaboration for strategic change: Examining dialectical tensions in an interorganizational change effort. Management Communication Quarterly, 33(3), 329-362. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318919834340
  • Kramer, M. W., Day, E. A., Nguyen, C., Hoelscher, C. S., & Cooper, O. D. (2018). Leadership in an interorganizational collaboration: A qualitative study of a statewide interagency task force. Human Relations, 72(2), 397-419. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726718763886 (Nominated for National Communication Association Organizational Communication Division Outstanding Article of the Year)
  • Cionea, I. A., Van Gilder, B., Hoelscher, C. S., & Anagondahalli, D. (2018). A cross-cultural comparison of expectations in romantic relationships: India and the United States. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 12(4), 289-307. https://doi.org/10.1080/17513057.2018.1542019 (Lead Article)
  • Kramer, M. W., Hoelscher, C. S., Nguyen, C., Day, E. A., & Cooper, O. D. (2017). Structuration processes in an interagency collaboration: Enabling and constraining participation and efficiency. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 45(40), 429-444. https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2017.1355558
  • Hoelscher, C. S., Kramer, M. W., Nguyen, C., Cooper, O. D. & Day, E. A. (2017). Decision making and communication in a statewide interagency task force: An investigation of planned versus utilized processes. Management Communication Quarterly, 31(1), 39-68. https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318916661762 (MCQ Featured Article, February 2017)
  • Cionea, I. A., Hoelscher, C. S., & Iles, I. A. (2017). Arguing goals: An initial assessment of a new measurement instrument. Communication Reports, 30(1), 51-65. https://doi.org/10.1080/08934215.2016.1184695
  • Hoelscher, C. S., Zanin, A. C., & Kramer, M. W. (2016). Identifying with values: Examining organizational culture in farmers markets. Western Journal of Communication, 80(4), 481-501. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2016.1163613
  • Zanin, A. C., Hoelscher, C. S., & Kramer, M. W. (2016). Extending symbolic convergence theory: A shared identity perspective of a team’s culture. Small Group Research, 47(4), 438-472. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496416658554

Research and professional interests

Organizational and small group communication, collaboration, leadership communication, teamwork, change management, policy implementation

Awards and honors

  • Teaching Award for Excellence in High-Impact Learning Practices, Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning (FCTL), Missouri State University, 2020
  • Outstanding Graduate Faculty Member, Department of Communication, Missouri State University, 2019
  • Summer Faculty Fellowship, Graduate College, Missouri State University, 2018
  • Certified Distance Educator Award, Distance Education, Missouri State University, 2018
  • Nancy L. Mergler Dissertation Fellowship, Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost, University of Oklahoma, 2015
  • Provost’s Graduate Teaching Assistant Award for Outstanding Teaching Performance, University of Oklahoma, 2015
  • Ragan-Kramer-Wieder Dissertation Proposal Award, Department of Communication, University of Oklahoma, 2015
  • Provost’s Certificate of Distinction for Outstanding Graduate Assistant Teaching, University of Oklahoma, 2014 and 2015
  • Dan and Mary John O’Hair Outstanding Graduate Student Award, Department of Communication, University of Oklahoma, 2014
  • Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award, Department of Communication, University of Oklahoma, 2013
  • Teaching Excellence Award, The Texas A&M University System, 2010 and 2011
  • Top Thesis Award, Department of Communication, West Texas A&M University, 2010
  • Graduate Student of the Year, Department of Communication, West Texas A&M University, 2008