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Kendall Phillips, associate dean of research and graduate studies in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and a professor of communication and rhetorical studies in its Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies, has been named president-elect of the Rhetoric Society of America (RSA).

Phillips is currently completing a four-year term on the RSA Board. He will become president-elect on January 1, 2012 and will serve as president during 2014 and 2015. RSA is the umbrella organization for scholars and teachers in every discipline who are interested in rhetoric, the art of effective communication.

Phillips’ research and teaching interests are in contemporary rhetorical theory and criticism. His work engages broad theoretical questions of advocacy, controversy, dissent and public memory. He explores these concepts through a variety of rhetorical artifacts, including comic books, film, political speeches and scientific controversies. He is the author of “Controversial Cinema: The Films that Outraged America” (Praeger, 2008), “Testing Controversy: A Rhetoric of Educational Reform” (Hampton Press, 2004) and “Projected Fears: Horror Films and American Culture” (Praeger, 2005). He is also editor of “Framing Public Memory” (University of Alabama Press, 2004).