Kelsi Matwick

Dr. Kelsi Matwick serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication and Media at Samford University's Howard College of Arts and Sciences, teaching Core Writing with over 16 years of experience in communication, media, and writing education. Previously, she held teaching positions at the University of Florida and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Education:

• PhD in Linguistics, University of Florida
• MA in Linguistics, University of Florida
• MA in Romance Languages and Literature, University of Notre Dame
• BA (summa cum laude) in Spanish, University of Notre Dame

Her research critically examines intersections of language, culture, and identity across Linguistics, Media Studies, Cultural Studies, and Food Studies, with over 30 scholarly publications. During her 2024-2025 Fulbright Scholarship in Japan, she investigated Okinawa's Blue Zones—studying community dynamics and purposeful living among centenarians—which directly informs her work on cultural resilience and storytelling. Her methodology uniquely blends ethnographic observation with culinary anthropology to decode food-language-culture relationships.

Scientific Awards:

• Fulbright Scholar (2024-2025)

Dr. Matwick mentors students in communication and media disciplines while leveraging her U.S. Air Force background—where she served as a Personnel Officer at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage—to develop interdisciplinary curricula. Her Fulbright grant enabled cross-cultural diplomacy research in Japan, bridging academic theory with real-world cultural exchange. Outside teaching, she actively collaborates with Birmingham's culinary and historical communities to explore regional food heritage.

A marathon runner and pianist, she integrates physical discipline and artistic expression into her academic practice, using global cuisine exploration as a lens for cultural analysis. Her current work in Birmingham focuses on documenting local food traditions to map linguistic and cultural evolution in the American South.