Dr. Rick Olsen is currently serving as department chair.  He has taught many classes for the department including COM 200, COM 276, COM 290, COM 340 and COM 341.  He has also participated in the Honors Scholar program by teaching several HON 120 courses on communication related topics such as humor and protest music.

His research projects are typically rhetorical/critical analyses of popular culture artifacts.  He has published entries in an encyclopedia of popular culture and sport, he also published research on MTV, the NBA Draft, the TV show, Desperate Housewives, and the popularity of SUVs.  

Dr. Olsen also actually enjoys productive committee work and serves on several committees within his department and across campus as well as being involved with regional projects such as the Senior Outreach Scholars.