A closer look into the life and career of Dr. Lisa Crews, Chair of the Department of Communication & New Media Studies and Assistant Professor in the School of Business & Communication at Mount St. Joseph University.
Dr. Lisa Crews, Ph. D., is a faculty member at Mount St. Joseph University in the School of Business & Communication. She is the Chair of the Department of Communication & New Media Studies and an Assistant Professor. Dr. Crews teaches several undergraduate courses within the Department of Communication & New Media Studies. Lisa Crews started her career in higher education at the University of Cincinnati after completing her doctoral degree at Ohio University. Shortly after, Dr. Crews became a faculty member at Mount St. Joseph University in 2010. In addition to being a Chairperson and an Assistant Professor at the Mount, Lisa is also a wife, a mother, and currently working on a collection of academic narratives addressing maternal identity as it relates to digital media.
Early Life & Career:
Lisa Crews was born and raised on the west side of Cincinnati, Ohio. She attended McAuley for High School and Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio for her undergraduate degree. “At first, I really wanted to be a history professor but an admissions counselor told me I would never make it because of how much school it entailed. Once at Wittenberg and in my classes, I fell in love with a French class where we read Voltaire. I really liked my professor and wanted to take more classes with her. She asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up and I told her ‘This. I want to sit in offices in comfy chairs surrounded by books and talk about ideas with people.’ She slammed the door and told me to ‘Be a French Major, damnit! Teach French!’ I switched majors and planned on studying abroad my Junior year. I studied in Paris during the fall of 1999. While there I discovered my love of film. I returned to school wishing I was studying film instead of French. Alas, I wanted to graduate on time so I completed my degree in French. I spent the year after graduation working at Wittenberg as the Assistant Director of the Writing Center. I applied to grad programs around the country and was accepted to the University of Denver to study Mass Communication.
My Master’s degree in Mass Communication focused on film studies and media criticism. I wrote my Master’s thesis on gender in modern musical films. I took film production, history, and theory courses in Denver and I also learned a lot about beer and skiing while there.
I entered Ohio University’s Scripps College of Communication, School of Telecommunications Ph.D. program in 2004. I studied Mass Communication, gender, interpersonal communication, and children’s media in Athens, OH. My dissertation looked at the ways in which teenage girls performed identity and gender on MySpace.
Throughout undergrad and graduate school, I always knew I wanted to teach and work with students. As an undergrad I worked in the Writing Center as a peer advisor, I then was able to continue working with students as the Assistant Director of the Writing Center. For both my Master's and Ph.D. degrees I was awarded scholarships for teaching and research. The admissions counselor back in my high school days was right. Becoming a professor takes a long time and lots and lots of school.” (Dr. Lisa Crews, Ph. D.)
Cincinnati & the Mount:
After Lisa obtained her doctoral degree from Ohio University she decided she wanted to return home to Cincinnati to be close to family. She initially accepted a Visiting Professor position at the University of Cincinnati and then in 2010, she secured a more permanent faculty position at Mount St. Joseph University. “Initially, I was hired only to teach Spoken Word, a public speaking course. Personally, I’m terrified of public speaking. I aim to ease all students’ anxieties about public speaking by making them comfortable in the classroom. We celebrate the little things like, ‘Hurray! Speech #1 is done! Three more to go!’
Thankfully I’ve moved beyond teaching only Spoken Word. Eventually, I began teaching Mass Media, Culture and Society, Writing for New Media, Interpersonal Communication, Communication Capstone, Research Methods and Communication Theory.”
Dr. Crews really enjoys teaching Research Methods. She references a university-wide research project her class worked on in 2018 where they wanted to answer the question, “Is a hotdog a sandwich?” Lisa said the class conducted “interviews, focus groups, surveys, and questionnaires. Students were able to practice the methods they were learning about and determine which method or combination of methods worked best and why.”
In addition to her duties as the Chair and an Assistant Professor at the Mount, Dr. Lisa Crews is also “working with two academic mothers whom I met at the Popular Culture Association conference in Chicago this past spring. We are proposing a collection of academic narratives addressing maternal identity as it relates to digital media, A Journey in Mom-dentity: Maternal Identity in Digital Culture. My most recent completed project is a chapter, “Searching for My Village: The Mom Humor Memescape of Instagram,” that has been accepted in the Palgrave Handbook of Parenthood in Popular Culture. The expected publication is 2025.”
Serving the Student Experience:
Dr. Lisa Crews is a huge believer in serving the student experience. Lisa knew she wanted to become a professor since she had started her undergraduate degree. “I became a professor because I wanted to teach. Connecting with my students in and outside of the classroom brings me the most energy and excitement for work. I’m happy to catch up with students while walking across the quad or having them come to my new (BIG) office for chats. Recently I was invited to a wedding of a MSJ alum and was able to catch up with several former students at the wedding! I care about my students’ college experience as well as their post-graduate goals and careers. I have been nominated three times for our university’s highest honor in teaching, the Sister Adele Clifford Excellence in Teaching Award (2017, 2018, and 2024). Receiving the Sister Adele Clifford Award in 2018 is the best compliment and validation I could ask for. In my Spoken Word classes, I teach a lesson in interpersonal communication where the fundamental truth is emphasized: ‘We all want to feel valued and cherished for who we are and what we do.’ Receiving the Clifford Award was the greatest validation for who I am and what I do and I’ve been chasing that high ever since.”
Department of Communication & New Media Studies:
Dr. Lisa Crews is the Chair of the Department of Communication & New Media Studies. The Department of Communication & New Media Studies recently moved to the School of Business to create the new School of Business & Communication. “The Department of Communication & New Media Studies is excited to be incorporated into the new School of Business & Communication. Not only do we have new fancy offices, we also have new colleagues and collaborators. In our new hallway, we have the pleasure of working with two new Visiting Professors, Jim Barge and Maria Seta. On the fifth floor, our new colleagues are no longer familiar faces from large faculty assembly gatherings, but now fellow collaborators and teammates. This ‘newness,’ I believe, is an excellent opportunity for growing a strong School of Business & Communication identity and providing fantastic programs for our many majors.
Communication and New Media Studies has had a strong collaborative relationship with the former School of Business. Recent changes to our program’s curriculum have introduced the establishment of five concentrated pathways of study: Communication Design, Communication Leadership, Health Communication, Sports Communication, and Strategic Communication. Of these five concentrations, three incorporate several Business classes and minors into the curriculum and learning goals.
As we look to the future, it’s clear that the core skills of communication are essential in every aspect of business. We believe that good communication is good business. Communication fosters collaboration, innovation, and connection—obvious things that all good businesses need.”
Personal Life:
“When I am not at MSJ I am with my 5-year-old son, Dillan. He is a bright light and an excellent example for many teaching moments in my interpersonal communication lessons. Dillan and I play monster trucks and Legos, build things with Magna Tiles, and kick the soccer ball around. My husband and I like to take Dillan camping and boating in Brookville, Indiana, throughout the summer and early fall months. Autumn is my favorite season because of cooler nights and better baking and cooking. I love to make things for other people (mostly Dillan) and have recently taken up the hobby of crocheting amigurumi (cute Japanese patterns of animals and characters). Before Dillan, I used to quilt and go to concerts. Truly, I love all things popular culture: reading, film, television, music, concerts, and social media. I have a new obsession with the reality show Love Island USA and have made it a point to incorporate as many interpersonal communication samples from the show into my class lectures.”
The School of Business & Communication at Mount St. Joseph University is moving FORWARD due to leaders like Dr. Lisa Crews. Her extensive career in higher education, her variety of education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and her research projects make her a uniquely qualified faculty member of the School of Business & Communication. Thank you, Dr. Lisa Crews, for all the people you serve as the Department of Communication & New Media Studies Chairperson and an Assistant Professor!
