Richard K. Olsen, Jr.
Associate Professor and Department Chair
Office: Leutze Hall # 231
Office Phone: (910) 962-3710
Fax: (910) 962-7061
olsenr@uncw.edu
Click HERE to visit Dr. Olsen's Web site
Dr. Rick Olsen teaches many classes for the department including COM 200, COM 276, COM 290, COM 340 and COM 341. He also participates 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 has also had chapters on the NBA draft, sport utility vehicles and MTV’s Total Request Live accepted for publication in scholarly volumes. His current projects focus on Desperate Housewives, and the new American Dream as represented in cell phone plan advertisements.
Olsen is involved in many levels of service to the department, university and larger community. He is assistant department chair and has served as a faculty senator for 8 years. He is also on the senate steering committee. Olsen works with the UNCW office of Public Service and Continuing Studies to teach Marine Corp instructors at Camp Johnson and with their Senior Scholars program.
