Janene Amyx Davison
Rhetoric of self-care, embodiment, material/visual research, and activism
About Janene
Janene Amyx Davison has worked in the field of communications since 1996 and has taught in higher education since 2003. After graduating from Texas A&M University with a BA in Speech Communication, Janene worked in medical marketing before going on to earn an MA in Mass Communication from the University of Houston. In 2021 she earned a PhD is in Technical Communication and Rhetoric from Texas Tech University. Her dissertation, titled Vulnerable Entanglements: Self-Care as a Rhetorical Practice of Embodied Resistance, examined the intersection of self-care, activism, and vulnerability, considering how “non-normative” bodies could be used as tools to push back against discrimination, while working toward individual flourishing. Janene is currently an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Speech Communication at Galveston College, and has served as the faculty senate president since 2019. She was awarded tenure in 2012, and she has twice been recognized for her exceptional service. Additionally, from 2012-2020 Janene served as the college’s SACS-COC QEP Director where she worked with faculty across disciplines to improve students’ content-area reading skills.
Education
Texas Tech University ♦️ Lubbock, Texas
Doctor of Philosophy in Technical Communication & Rhetoric, December 2021
Dissertation: Vulnerable Entanglements: Self-Care as a Rhetorical Practice of Embodied Resistance
Committee: Jennifer Nish, Chair; Kendall Gerdes (University of Utah); Steve Holmes, Amy Koerber
Research Areas: Ethics of Care, Social Justice, Rhetoric of Health and Medicine, Foodways Rhetoric, Feminist Materialism
University of Houston ♦️ Houston, Texas
Master of Arts in Communication, 2004; 3.96 GPA
Course work emphasis in mass media and presidential discourse
Thesis topic: Kenneth Burke’s Cluster/Agon Analysis of Bush-41 and Bush-43 Pre-Iraqi War Speeches (Dr. Michael Ryan, Chair)
Texas A&M University ♦️ College Station, Texas
Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication, 1996
Minor in marketing with concentrated course work in advertising
Teaching Excellence
Galveston College, Galveston, Texas
January 2007 to Present ♦️ Professor of Speech Communication
Courses Taught
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Introduction to Speech Communication (SPCH 1311)
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Public Speaking (SPCH 1315)
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Interpersonal Communication (SPCH 1318)
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Business and Professional Communication (SPCH 1321)
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English Composition (ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302)
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Technical and Business Writing (ENGL 2311)
Teaching Innovation
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Developed and pioneered early online & hybrid courses beginning in 2007
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Integrated a service learning component using non-profit clients into Technical and Business Writing
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Participated in a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, integrating foodways into English Composition
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Coordinated Great Ideas For Teaching (GIFT) workshops to distill teaching innovation strategies among Galveston College faculty
Awards and Rank
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Advanced to rank of Professor (2022)
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Three time Exceptional Service Award recipient for faculty, selected by peers and students (2011, 2015, 2023)
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Tenure awarded (2012)
Service to the College
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Faculty Senate President (2019-2022)
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Faculty Senate Vice President (2017-2019)
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Rank, Tenure, Sabbatical, and Emeritus committee (Fall 2012- Spring 2017 and Fall 2022-present, including serving as chair)
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Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), Director (2012-2019 and 2023-present) - further details under Administrative Leadership
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Coordinator for Speech Communication department (2009-present) - further details under Administrative Leadership
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Faculty co-advisor for Phi Theta Kappa honor society (2009-2012)
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Committee work has included numerous faculty and administrative hiring committees, Student Success and Retention, Professional Development, Institutional Technology, Policy Taskforce, and Online Teaching Standards
August 2011 to May 2013 ♦️ Lecturer
Texas A&M University, Galveston, Texas
Taught Public Speaking (COMM 203). I left because my duties as QEP Director at Galveston College demanded more of my time.
Galveston College, Galveston, Texas
September 2003 to December 2006 ♦️ Adjunct Faculty, Speech Communication
Taught evening sections of Public Speaking (SPCH 1315) and Interpersonal Communication (SPCH 1318). Was awarded a full time tenure-track job beginning in January 2007.
Administrative & Professional Leadership
Galveston College ♦️ Galveston, Texas
Quality Enhancement Plan, Director (January 2012 to August 2019 and May 2023 to present)
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Led a team to select, develop, and implement the college's Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) as part of its Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) reaffirmation. Maintained a full or partial teaching load throughout this multi-year process.
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2012-2019: Served as Director of the QEP team as we selected, developed, wrote, and implemented Read Deeper: Critical Reading Across Disciplines. Our plan was accepted by SACS with no recommendations.
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Coordinated and conducted training with faculty to implement reading strategies into the classroom.
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Collected and maintained qualitative and quantitative data which was compiled into reports and presented yearly.
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2023 to present: Serviced as the Director of the QEP implementation team. We're currently working on a First Year Experience plan intended to help students more efficiently progress through their program goals.
Coordinator of Speech Communication and Foreign Languages (September 2009 to Present)
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Oversee hiring, orientation, and evaluation of adjunct faculty in speech communication and foreign language courses
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Prepare semester schedules, text book ordering, and department budgets
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Maintain course and program learning outcomes, and prepare reports for Institutional Effectiveness
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Advise students
Cyberonics, Inc. ♦️ Houston, Texas
January 2000 to August 2001 ♦️ Marketing Communications Coordinator
Prepared and managed the design, production, and implementation of sales and marketing materials for a medical device company targeting neurologists and epilepsy patients. Aided in the redesign of the corporate website and built a user-friendly Access database for the department to track and manage inventory of sales and marketing materials.
VHA, Inc. ♦️ Irving, Texas
July 1997 to August 1999 ♦️ Membership Management Specialist
Participated in the ground floor development and implementation of a national web-based consumer health information product including working with a market research firm on branding and target market, name and logo development, and pricing models. Designed an Access database, including forms and reports, developed to track communications and interactions with over 3,000 physicians and 500 hospital systems.
The Richards Group ♦️ Dallas, Texas
July 1996 to May 1997 ♦️ Account Executive
Served as the Account Executive for Wyndham Hotel's Garden properties, coordinating advertising activities for 47 hotels. Managed the relationship between our client and all parts of the advertising agency including market research, creative development, and media placement/purchasing.
Presentations & Awards
Awards & Grants
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National Endowment for the Humanities grant participant, Foodways and First Year Composition, 2017-2019
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John E. and Susanne D. Roueche Excellence award (for outstanding contributions and leadership by community college faculty and staff), November 2015
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Galveston College Outstanding Faculty (NISOD Award Recipient), May 2023
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Galveston College Outstanding Faculty (NISOD Award Recipient), May 2015
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Galveston College Outstanding Faculty (NISOD Award Recipient), May 2011
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Title V Grant recipient to develop Camtasia training materials for Galveston College faculty, Summer 2010
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Teaching & Mentoring as Activism: Flourishing Possibilities – presented at Texas Community College Teachers Association conference, March 2022
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(Re)writing vulnerable bodies: Exploring fat activists’ self-care through texts, tools, and bodies – presented at the Minds, Means, and Materials conference through University of Nevada, Reno, January 2021
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Embodied Practices of Self-Care – a paper accepted as part of a workshop for the Rhetoric of Health and Medicine conference, September 2019
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Foodways as a Portal to Intercultural Competency in the Classroom – presented as part of a panel titled, High Impact Pedagogical Practices for Promoting Intercultural Understanding Across Communities at the Association of Rhetoric and Writing Studies, October 2018
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Mapping Harvey: A Tale of Two Houston Neighborhoods – presented as part of a panel titled, Lessons From Hurricane Harvey: Technical Communication Advocacy in Response to a Natural Disaster at Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, March 2018
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Rhetorically Listening to Things: Glyphosate and Material Consequence – presented as part of a panel titled, Rhetorical Listening Approaches in the Rhetoric of Health and Medicine at Conference on College Composition and Communication, March 201
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Foundational Knowledge in Rhetoric of Health & Medicine – participated in a round table discussion as part of the Medical Rhetorics Roundtable: Examining Intersections and Connections Within and Beyond Our Field at Conference on College Composition and Communication, March 2018
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Bridge Over Troubled Waters: Using Reading Apprenticeship for College Readiness – co-presented with Michael Berberich at the College Reading and Learning Association, November 2017
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A Tale of Two QEPs – co-presented with Galveston College colleagues and Guilford Technical Community College at the SACS-COC Annual meeting, December 2015
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Teaching Students to Read Deeper Across Disciplines – co-presented at NISOD’s International Conference on Teaching and Learning, May 2015
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Nailed it! How one community college nailed the CS 3.3.1 series and the Quality Enhancement Plan – co presented with Dr. Larry Root at the Texas Association of Institutional Researchers annual conference, March 2015
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Nailed it! How one community college nailed the CS 3.3.1 series and the Quality Enhancement Plan – co presented with Dr. Larry Root at the Texas A&M Assessment conference, February 2015
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A Collaborative Approach to the Communication Model, Great Ideas for Teaching Speech (GIFTS) – presented during a breakout session at Texas Speech Communication Association annual conference, October 2012
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Pimp Your Portfolio – Creating an Online Professional Portfolio – presented to Galveston College faculty for professional development, April 2012
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Communicating with the iGeneration – presented during a breakout session at Texas Speech Communication Association annual conference, October 2010