Dr. Rita Kirk
Dr. Rita Kirk is a Professor of Public Affairs at SMU. She is an Althsuler Distinguished Teaching Professor, and is a Meadows Distinguished Professor. As an academic, she is recognized for her analysis of political and persuasive campaigns. She is the author of three award-winning books and articles, including Political Empiricism: Communications Strategies in State and Regional Elections; Hate Speech, a book analyzing implications for hate discourse in public communication, with coeditor with David Slayden; and Solo Acts: The Death of Discourse in a Wired World. During the 2008 Presidential elections, she performed dial tests of the debates with colleague Dan Schill for CNN and ABC/HearstArgyle stations to assist in their national news coverage. Specializing in communication strategy, she has more than 25 years of experience as a strategist for city council, mayoral, state, U. S. Representative, and gubernatorial races. In addition to her political consulting, she serves as a communications consultant to several national and multinational corporations on public policy matters. Kirk holds a bachelor's degree in communication/political science and a master's degree in communications, both from the University of Arkansas. She received her Ph.D. in Communications from the University of Missouri.
