Metropolitan State University of Denver

Dr Karen L Lollar

Personal Biography Statement

Karen Lollar Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Speech Communication and Chair of Communication Arts and Sciences at MSU Denver. A Colorado native, Dr. Lollar graduated with a BS and MBA from the University of Colorado and a Ph.D. from the University of Denver. Like many students at MSU Denver she finished her degrees while working and raising a family giving her an appreciation of the challenges of achieving academic goals.

When asked “why do you study communication?” she might respond, ”communication explains what it means to be human.” She teaches because she loves the subject and sharing that love with students who explore the theories and philosophies of human communication. She has taught many of the courses in the CAS department with special emphasis on courses in Communication Theory, Communication Ethics, and Foundations of Speech and Thought. Students have described her as tough but fair and her courses as challenging and engaging.

Her research interests include transitional networks as social support, narrative identity as a relational and network understanding of community and creating non-anxious and healthy communication in organizations. She has recently completed an edited book The talk within: Its central role in communication. An ongoing area of research interest is the long term experience in the aftermath of fire disaster. After her own home burned in 2008 she published a reflection on the experience in the journal Qualitative Inquiry and is currently gathering narrative data related to recent Colorado wildfires.

Always busy, she plays the piano daily, maintains a home with her husband, Jim, on 2 ½ acres, trains and shows three German Shepherd Dogs in conformation, herding and obedience and enjoys her three adult children and their families. And then, of course, the football games and occasional beer.

Courses Taught

HON-4301,SPE-1301,SPE-2301,SPE-3740,SPE-3980,SPE-4160,SPE-4301

Office Hours

Monday - [  :   to   :  ]
Tuesday - [10:   to 12:  ]
[13:   to 15:  ]
Wednesday - [  :   to   :  ]

Current Semester Schedule