Faculty Bio
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Robert Westerfelhaus came to the College of Charleston from the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD), where he taught as an assistant professor for three years. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. from Ohio University (OU), from which he earned two awards for rhetorical scholarship and was named Graduate Student of the Year (1998). Dr. Westerfelhaus earned his B.A. from Ohio Dominican University (ODU), where he majored in public relations. As an undergraduate, he won two PR awards and served as a PR intern as part of Ohio's prestigious Governor's Honors Program.

Dr. Westerfelhaus loves teaching. While at OU, he was nominated for the Teacher of the Year Award. At UHD, his teaching earned him recognition as a Success Builder. In 2004, he was recognized for his teaching with our own Distinguished Communication Faculty Award, given jointly by the college chapters of Lambda Pi Eta and the Public Relations Student Society of America. Currently, Dr. Westerfelhaus teaches courses in communication ethics and theory. He also taught a graduate theory seminar in Spring 2005.

Dr. Westerfelhaus is also passionate about his research, which applies rhetorical and semiotic theories to communication issues related to culture, ethics, religion, and human sexuality. As an undergraduate, an essay he wrote about ethics took second place in a national contest sponsored by Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel. In 2000, he won the Religious Communication Association's Dissertation of the Year Award. He has presented well over 30 competitively chosen conference papers (six of which were top ranked); served as a chair, participant, or respondent for as many panels; and has published articles in such high profile peer reviewed journals as Critical Studies in Media Communication, Communication Quarterly, Journal of Communication Inquiry, Text and Performance Quarterly, Western Journal of Communication and chapters in such textbooks as Critical Approaches to Television (2nd ed.) and Communicating Ethnic and Cultural Identity. Dr. Westerfelhaus' reviews have appeared in such academic journals as Homiletic and The American Journal of Semiotics, and his expertise has made him a much sought after referee/reviewer by journal editors and conference planners. In addition to his numerous academic publications, he is also frequent contributor to various newspapers.

Dr. Westerfelhaus is no stranger to service and community involvement. While at UHD, his service included a term as faculty senator and work as assistant chair for the Department of Arts and Humanities. While in Texas, his volunteer work with Parish Social Ministries earned him recognition as a Volunteer of the Year (2001) by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston. Since arriving in Charleston, Dr. Westerfelhaus has become a member of the board of directors of a local branch of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, an international Catholic charitable organization devoted to serving those living in poverty. At the College of Charleston, he has served on several department and college wide committees, including the Convocation Book Guide Committee, which he chaired in 2004. He is currently a Faculty Senator. Dr. Westerfelhaus is also quite active in international, national, and regional communication associations.

In addition to those already mentioned, highlights of Dr. Westerfelhaus' many awards and honors include his being named an Ohio Regents Scholar, and membership in Delta Epsilon Sigma, Kappa Gamma Pi, and Phi Kappa Phi.

Dr. Westerfelhaus lives on James Island with his wife, Penny, and three dachshunds, Johann Christoph von Schulz (Schulzie for short), Bo Bo, and Eleanor.