Personal Bio:
Dr. Karen Anderson-Lain received her doctorate from University of Kansas in 2003 and
her masters from Texas Tech University in 1999. Dr. Anderson-Lain joined the faculty
as an Assistant Professor in 2004 and left in 2012 to serve as Director of Academic
Services with Academic Partnerships, LLC in Dallas. Dr. Anderson-Lain returned to
the faculty full time as a Senior Lecturer and Basic Communication Course Director
in fall 2015. Dr. Anderson-Lain was promoted to Principal Lecturer in 2017.
As Basic Communication Course Director Dr. Anderson-Lain coordinates the TA Training
and Orientation. Dr. Anderson-Lain's commitment to mentoring new pedagogues is an
important component of her teaching and research interests. Dr. Anderson-Lain has
been awarded over $28,000 in grants and fellowships for her research on the Basic
Communication Course (COMM 1010). Her work in this area has resulted in three peer-reviewed
journal articles, publication of an interactive digital textbook, the development
of the Communication in Action workbook, and ten conference presentations.
Dr. Anderson-Lain was a UNT Faculty Senator (2020-2023) and served as Faculty Senate
Vice-Chair (2022-2023) and chaired the Facutly Senate Executive Committee (2022-2023).
Additionally, she co-chaired the Faculty Senate Committee on the Status of Women (2019-2021)
and Teaching Effectiveness Committee (2023-2025).
In 2015, Dr. Anderson-Lain was competitively selected as a Teachers on Teaching by
the National Communication Association. In 2018, Dr. Anderson-Lain was awarded the
UNT Foundation Outstanding Lecturer Award. This award is the university's highest
honor for full-time lecturers. In 2023, Dr. Anderson-Lain was the first lecturer at
UNT to be awarded the President’s Council Service Award.
Dr. Anderson-Lain and her partner, Dr. Brian Lain, have two children.
Teaching:
- COMM 1010: Introduction to Communication
- COMM 2020: Interpersonal Communication
- COMM 3320: Communication & Conflict Management
- COMM 3620: Intercultural Communication
- COMM 4020: Communication Theory
- COMM 4420: Relational Development
- COMM 5085: Pedagogy & Communication (graduate)
Research Interests:
- Pedagogy and Communication: Service-learning and community engagement; assessment;
critical pedagogy; popular culture pedagogy; narrative and pedagogy; online and blended
learning
- Interpersonal & Health Communication: communication and aging; intergenerational communication;
age-stereotypes; grandparent-grandchild relationships; media representations of aging;
family communication
Selected Publications:
- Anderson-Lain, K., & Tam, A. (2025). Positioning/Orienting toward the communication
classroom. In C. K. Rudick, K. B. Golsan, & K. Cheesewright (Eds.), Teaching from
the Heart: Critical Communication Pedagogy in the Communication Classroom (pp. 41-62).
Cognella.
- Anderson-Lain, K., Mabrey, P., Voth, B., & Lain, B. (2023). Student learning outcomes
and high-impact practices. In K. Young & D. Cram-Helwich (Eds.), Reimagining the future
of intercollegiate debate: Pedagogy, practice, sustainability (pp. 22-30). American
Forensic Association.
- Lain, B., & Anderson-Lain, K. (2021). Demonstrating academic relevance and rigor:
Linking the NCA Learning Outcomes in Communication to debate program assessment through
portfolios. In D. Hample (Ed.) Local Theories of Argument: Selected Works from the
21st NCA/AGA Alta Conference on Argumentation. Routledge.
- Hammonds, K., & Anderson-Lain, K. (2020). The Batman comes to class: Popular culture
as a tool for addressing reflexive pain. Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of
Popular Culture and Pedagogy, 7 (1). http://journaldialogue.org/issues/v7-issue-1/the-batman-comes-to-class/
- Lain, B., & Anderson-Lain, K. (2020). Networking debate and civic engagement: Measuring
the impact of high school debate camp. In C. Winkler (Ed.), Networking Argument: Selected
Works from the 20th NCA/AFA Alta Conference on Argumentation.
- Lain, B., Anderson, K., & Oliver, L. (2017). Making debate normal: Different audiences
and debate's pedagogical mission. Contemporary Argumentation & Debate.
- Anderson-Lain, K. (2017). Cultural identity forum: Enacting the self-awareness imperative
in intercultural communication. Communication Teacher, 31, 131-136. doi:10.1080/17404622.2017.1314529
- Hammonds, K., & Anderson-Lain, K. (2016). A pedagogy of communion: Theorizing popular
culture pedagogy. The Popular Culture Studies Journal, 4, 106-132. (Awarded the Michael
T. Marsden Top Paper in Journal Award at Midwest PCA/ACA Annual Conference)
Selected Awards/Honors:
- 2023 - President’s Council Service Award, University of North Texas (UNT), UNT Faculty
Senate (First Lecturer to Receive Award).
- 2022 - Nominated for Student Supervisor of the Year, UNT Career Center Student Employment
Awards
- 2020 - Top Paper Panel in Instructional Development Communication Division at the
National Communication (NCA) Convention, Indianapolis, Indiana (Virtual- Paper co-authored
with Rowdy Dale Farmer).
- 2018 - Outstanding Lecturer Award, University of North Texas, University Foundation
(highest level University Award a Lecturer can receive at UNT)
- 2018 - Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching- Finalist, College of Liberal Arts & Social
Sciences (CLASS) Advisory Board Awards, University of North Texas
- 2018 - Distinguished Connect Partner Award, University of North Texas, Career Connect
- 2017 - Top Paper in Argumentation & Forensics Division at National Communication Association
(NCA) Convention, Dallas, Texas. (Paper co-authored with Brian Lain and Laura Oliver)
- 2016 - Michael T. Marsden Paper Award from The Popular Culture Studies Journal (Paper
co-authored with Kyle A. Hammonds)
- 2015 - Teachers on Teaching, Honoree, National Communication Association