Keri Stephens

Co-Director

Keri K. Stephens, PhD, is a Professor in Organizational Communication & Technology, a Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Co-Director of the Technology and Information Policy Institute in the Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research program examines the role of technology in organizational practices and organizing processes, especially in contexts of crisis, disaster, and health. She has authored over 100 articles appearing in research journals, proceedings, and books, and her two most recent books are the national-level award-winning edited book New Media in Times of Crisis (2019, Routledge), and the 2-time national-level award-winning book Negotiating Control: Organizations and Mobile Communication (2018, Oxford University Press).  She runs the OPTIC Lab (Organizing Practices through Technology, Information, & Communication), and is the Vice-Chair of the Mobile Communication Group for the International Communication Association (ICA).​

Stephens has received over $5 million of external funding (as a PI or CoPI) from the National Science Foundation and over $1.7 million from state and industry organizations. She has chaired divisions in both the National Communication Association and ICA, and is a former Associate Editor for Management Communication Quarterly. She gave a TEDx Talk about her NSF-funded work on social media and how people were rescued from flooding during Hurricane Harvey.

She has received several major teaching awards including the President’s Associates Teaching Excellence Award, the Eyes of Texas Teaching and Mentoring Award, the Academy of Distinguished Teachers at UT Austin, and was selected for the outstanding mentor award from the Organizational Communication Division of NCA.