Skip to main content

David Tschida, Ph.D.

David Tschida portrait
  • Director of Liberal Studies
  • Communication and Journalism
  • Liberal Studies
  • Public Health and Environmental Studies

As a child, I watched a lot of TV. The TV program Gilligan's Island and the character of the Professor inspired my own interest in being a professor, though I did not know I would end up with a career in communication. I also started following politics and watching news at about age 6. Not the normal thing a six-year-old follows! These parts of my life were the seeds of an interest in communication, especially in the critical analysis of communication messages and practices (i.e., rhetoric, media studies) that eventually became a focus of three university educational experiences. I grew up in Minnesota on the edge of a wildlife management area. It was there that I was given experiences in nature that inspired my specific research focus in environmental communication (i.e., the study of how we communicate about environmental issues in social movements, law, media, tourism, religion, etc.). I enjoy traveling, camping, kayaking, and hiking and exploring our national and state parks and forest lands. 


Teaching Interests
  • Environmental Communication
  • Communication and Advocacy
  • Rhetoric and the Public Sphere
  • Communication Literacy
  • Intercultural Communication
  • Rhetoric of Popular Culture
  • Public Speaking
  • Liberal Studies Introduction & Capstone
Responsibilities
  • Director of Liberal Studies
  • Affiliate Faculty Member, Public Health and Environmental Studies 
Research and Creative Activities
  • Environmental Communication
  • Communication and Advocacy
  • Environmental Racism & Environmental Justice
  • Rhetoric and the Public Sphere
  • Environment and Tourism
Education
  • Ph.D. University of Missouri (Communication)
  • M.A. University of Nebraska (Communication Studies)
  • B.A. St. Cloud State University (Communication Studies)
Professional Memberships

International Environmental Communication Association, Lifetime Member