Jake Simmons

Jake Simmons serves as Associate Dean and Professor of Communication in the Department of Communication at Missouri State University's Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities. His administrative leadership includes roles as Assistant Department Head, Director of Graduate Studies, and Provost's Fellow for Graduate Student Success, demonstrating deep institutional engagement alongside scholarly work.

His educational credentials are PhD (2008, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale), MA (2004, Texas Tech University), and BA (2002, West Texas A&M University). Teaching covers core courses including COM 307 Gender and Communication, COM 360 Intercultural Communication, COM 702 Theory and Research in Communication, and COM 714 Qualitative Analysis in Communication.

Research centers on communication theory in aesthetic/everyday contexts, ontological perspectives in posthumanities and new materialism, and intercultural dynamics within universities. His work critically examines human-nonhuman relationality, material agency, and autoethnographic methods, challenging anthropocentric frameworks through naturecultural performance studies.

Recent publications (2020-2025) reveal escalating focus on posthumanist collaborations, environmental communication in the Eremocene era, and autoethnographic innovation. He bridges performance studies with intercultural theory, emphasizing non-human participation in meaning-making while addressing contemporary crises like loneliness and institutional diversity.

Notable awards include:

• Lila A. Heston Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Interpretation and Performance Studies (2022)
• Distinguished Article Award from National Communication Association (2021)
• Outstanding Scholar in Performance Studies and Autoethnography (2021)
• Outstanding Graduate Faculty Member at Missouri State University (2016-2017)
• Rodgers Distinguished Faculty Research Award Finalist (2013)

As Director of Graduate Studies and Editor-in-Chief of Text and Performance Quarterly (2021-2024), Simmons actively shapes graduate education and scholarly discourse. His service as Provost's Fellow for Graduate Student Success highlights commitment to student development. No explicit grant details are provided, but editorial leadership and award recognition suggest sustained research support.

While the Reynolds College hosts the Bernice S. Warren Center for Archaeological Research and Digital Humanities Lab, Simmons' primary affiliation is with the Department of Communication. His work operates at the intersection of communication theory and performance studies without documented lab leadership.