Joe Mazer

Joseph Mazer is Dean of the College of Communication & Information at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, the state’s flagship land-grant Research 1 university. A first-generation college student, he strongly believes in the power of higher education.

As dean, Joe serves as the chief academic, fiscal and administrative officer for a college that includes five bachelor’s degree programs, three master’s programs, an interdisciplinary PhD program, an annual budget of over $25 million, and a research enterprise with more than $6 million in grant and contract awards. He guides the work of over 160 faculty and staff who serve approximately 5,000 students through major and minor programs and general education. Joe oversees the college’s four schools and its core administrative offices in finance, administration, and operations, communications and marketing, advancement, access and engagement, faculty development, academic affairs and student success, and research. He also oversees WUOT 91.9 FM, the university’s National Public Radio station, and a college-level media operations unit that houses six media properties. Joe works with the college’s 35-member Board of Visitors, a group of college alumni and friends who advise the college and are passionate about making a difference in higher education.

As dean, Joe engaged faculty, staff, students, and alumni to create and implement a strategic plan that emphasizes the college’s role within a flagship land-grant Research 1 institution, aims to break down silos between departments, transforms research, teaching, and engagement to better serve citizens of Tennessee and beyond, and promotes a culture of operational excellence. The plan has led to the following successes for the college:

• The college’s overall retention rate improved 85.1% to 92.6% over three years, with significant gains for students of color (77.4% in 2021 to 96.4% in 2024), first-generation students (69.7% in 2021 to 92% in 2024), and Pell-Eligible students (79.1% in 2021 to 96.8% in 2024).
• The college’s six-year graduation rate improved 74.4% to 78.1% over two years, with the four-year graduation rate (75%) placing the college in the top three of 14 colleges on campus.
• The college’s residential undergraduate enrollment has grown by 35% over four years, with a 16% increase in graduate student enrollment.
• Faculty research productivity has significantly increased with journal article publications increasing by 15% and impact metrics rising by 24% over two years
• Research expenditures and workforce development contracts surpassed $2.1M in FY22, the highest in the past five years.
• Major gifts are at an all-time high. Joe and his colleagues secured the largest cash gift in the college’s history, resulting in the first named school on campus and the first named school of its kind in the SEC and among all land-grant universities in the country.
• Major gift totals grew from $3.48M in FY21 to $10M+ in FY24, the highest amount raised on record.
• Annual giving from alumni and friends grew over four years, increasing from ~$50K in FY21 to $1.2M+ in FY24, the highest annual amount raised on record
• Under the university’s new RCM budget model, the college’s budget grew by 71% over five years, $14.6M in FY21 to $25M in FY25. The college is one of a few (among the 14 colleges) that are profitable under the new budget model, due to in-demand programs and efficiencies in operations.
• State approval was secured for a $12M+ capital improvement plan for the college’s building to create a showcase space for student recruitment and advising, additional office space to address personnel growth, refreshed college signage and building wayfinding, and a college engagement space to promote socialization among students, faculty, and staff.

Prior to joining UT, Joe was professor and chair of the Department of Communication at Clemson University. As chair, he doubled research productivity over three years, grew teaching, research, and service capacities by adding faculty expertise in core areas, and strengthened partnerships with university and community partners. At Clemson, he also served as faculty fellow in the Office of the Provost where he assisted with university-wide strategic planning. He served as director of the university’s Social Media Listening Center, an interdisciplinary research and teaching facility that provides teaching, research, and partnership opportunities to students, faculty, research partners, and external clients. The facility was the first of its kind in higher education and, at the time, one of a few in the world. Under his leadership, the center led or contributed to over $7 million in grants and contracts and provided many students with internship and job placement opportunities.

In addition to his academic leadership roles, Joe is a nationally recognized communication scholar, with research interests in communication in teaching and learning, social media and new technologies, and communication in interpersonal relationships. He has made more than 100 research presentations in various national and international conferences in addition to over 90 peer-reviewed books, book chapters, technical reports, research briefs, and journal articles. He has been recognized among the top 1 percent of the most prolific scholars in communication, and in the top 10 most influential scholars in instructional communication. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and other organizations and discussed in media outlets, including Chronicle of Higher Education, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, NBC Nightly News, Sports Illustrated,and ESPN.

Joe has served in key leadership positions with professional national and regional organizations. He is an active member of the National Communication Association, the nation’s oldest and largest academic organization devoted to the study of communication, where he served as Editor of Communication Education, a flagship journal of the association. He is a past member of the association’s Leadership Development Committee and Teaching and Learning Council and past Chair of the Instructional Development Division.

The quality of Joe’s work as a teacher and mentor has garnered multiple honors, including the Outstanding Professor of the Year Award given by Clemson’s Department of Communication undergraduate student body for excellence in teaching and dedication to student success and a faculty-in-residence appointment to provide leadership on faculty-student interaction outside of the classroom and increase the personalization of the residence halls.

Joe received his Ph.D. from Ohio University’s Scripps College of Communication, a master’s degree in communication from Illinois State University, and a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Mansfield University. He is the inaugural recipient of the Outstanding Young Graduate Alumnus Award from the faculty in Illinois State University’s School of Communication.

Education

• PhD from Ohio University’s Scripps College of Communication
• Master’s degree in Communication from Illinois State University
• Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from Mansfield University

Research Interests

• Communication in teaching and learning contexts
• Social media and new technologies
• Communication in interpersonal relationships
• Measurement issues and trends in communication research