North Central College alumnus Josh Averbeck to deliver prestigious lecture at WIU

Oct 10, 2014

North Central College alumnus Josh Averbeck ’04, Ph. D., will deliver the 22nd annual Wayne N. Thompson Professor Lecture Oct. 22 at Western Illinois University in Macomb.

“The Thompson Professorship is a wonderful opportunity to take on ambitious research projects that I may not have been able to accomplish during the academic year,” said Averbeck, assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Western Illinois University. “I’m very grateful to the Wayne N. Thompson family and trust for this opportunity. I look forward to sharing my research and a little about what we do in communication with the community.”

Averbeck earned his bachelor’s degree in general science in 2004 from North Central College, his master’s degree in communication in 2007 from Western Illinois University (WIU) and his doctoral degree in communication in 2011 from the University of Oklahoma.

He was appointed coordinator of WIU’s graduate communication program in 2014 and has previously taught at Marshall University in Huntington, W.V. He has also authored and co-authored many articles and presented at numerous professional conferences.

Earlier this year, Averbeck was awarded the College of Fine Arts and Communication's (COFAC) Scholarly Activity Award and its Teaching with Technology Award. He has also been awarded numerous honors for his writings and graduate work. Averbeck is a member of the National Communication Association, the Western States Communication Association and the International Communication Association.

The Wayne N. Thompson Professor Lecture is named to honor WIU alumnus Wayne Thompson, who was a former WIU professor of speech communication. An endowment in his name helps sponsor a number of departmental programs to enhance learning and scholarship in the field of communication, including this lecture by a prominent scholar in the field.

The lecture, titled “The Use of Sarcasm When Arguing with Friends,” will be presented at 5 p.m. Oct. 22 in the University Union’s Sandburg Theatre. The event is free and open to the public.