Thomas R. Dunn

Thomas R. Dunn serves as Associate Professor of Communication Studies in Colorado State University's College of Liberal Arts, holding office A235 in the Behavioral Sciences Building. He directs the Queer Memory Project of Northern Colorado and the Humanities Baseline at the Joe Blake Center for the Engaged Humanities, while participating as a WICHE Leadership Fellow in the Mellon Foundation-supported Academy for Leaders in the Humanities.

His educational credentials include a Ph.D. in Communication and Certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from the University of Pittsburgh (2011). Previously honored as Monfort Professor (2020-2023) and Presidential Leadership Fellow (2023-2024), he maintains active teaching responsibilities in rhetorical theory and queer studies.

Dunn's research investigates the intersection of LGBT/queer culture, politics, and rhetoric through the lens of public memory and visual/material rhetorics. His scholarship examines how LGBTQ+ communities deploy historical narratives to drive social change, with particular focus on monuments, visual artifacts, and spatial representations. Key projects analyze the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Oscar Wilde's legacy, Matthew Shepard's commemoration, and the visual rhetoric of hate crimes.

His publication trajectory reveals consistent engagement with queer memory politics across eight significant articles (2010-2019), culminating in the forthcoming book The Pink Scar: How Nazi Persecution Shaped the Struggle for LGBTQ+ Rights (Penn State University Press, October 2025). This body of work demonstrates interdisciplinary reach spanning rhetoric, gender studies, visual culture, and political communication.

Dunn's scholarly contributions have earned multiple prestigious awards:

• 2011 National Communication Association's Stephen E. Lucas Debut Publication Award
• 2012 Gerald R. Miller Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award
• 2014-2015 Excellence in Teaching Award from CSU's College of Liberal Arts
• 2016 B. Aubrey Fisher Outstanding Journal Article Award
• 2017 New Investigator Award from Critical/Cultural Studies Division of NCA
• 2018 Book of the Year Award from GLBTQ Communication Studies Division of NCA

As an educator, he teaches undergraduate courses including History and Theory of Rhetoric and Communicating the Queer Past, while mentoring graduate students in rhetorical criticism and queer rhetorics. His administrative leadership extends to the Queer Memory Project, which preserves Northern Colorado's LGBTQ+ heritage through oral histories and community exhibits. Current initiatives include developing the Humanities Baseline curriculum and advancing his research on Nazi persecution's legacy for LGBTQ+ rights movements.

The Queer Memory Project of Northern Colorado (QMPNoco) operates as a community-driven archive documenting regional LGBTQ+ history through digital collections, physical exhibits, and educational partnerships with local schools and cultural institutions.