Steve Duck

Steve Duck is a Professor in the Department of Rhetoric at the University of Iowa. He previously served as Department Chair (2010-2022), Chair of the Faculty Assembly (2020-2021), and held roles on University College and CLAS Executive Committees. His research focuses on personal relationships and their rhetorical dimensions in everyday interactions, including workplace dynamics, dissolution processes, and relational maintenance. He edited the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships for 15 years and authored/edited over 55 books.

Key scholarly contributions include exploring relational communication, workplace relationship appropriateness, and the evolution of personal relationships research. Notable works include Rethinking Relationships through Rhetoric (2023) and textbooks like Communication in Everyday Life (2021). His research integrates rhetoric with interpersonal processes, examining intimacy, dissolution models, and public speaking pedagogy.

Awarded the Doug Trank Memorial Award, Duck’s work emphasizes interdisciplinary connections between rhetoric, psychology, and social structures. He advises graduate programs and has shaped university governance through leadership roles. Ongoing interests include historical analyses of relational studies and future directions in communication theory.