Dr. Karen Anderson-Lain

Personal Bio

Dr. Karen Anderson-Lain received her doctorate from University of Kansas in 2003 and her masters from Texas Tech University in 1999. Dr. Anderson-Lain joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor in 2004 and left in 2012 to serve as Director of Academic Services with Academic Partnerships, LLC in Dallas. Dr. Anderson-Lain returned to the faculty full time as a Senior Lecturer and Basic Communication Course Director in fall 2015. Dr. Anderson-Lain was promoted to Principal Lecturer in 2017.

As Basic Communication Course Director Dr. Anderson-Lain coordinates the TA Training and Orientation. Dr. Anderson-Lain's commitment to mentoring new pedagogues is an important component of her teaching and research interests. Dr. Anderson-Lain has been awarded over $28,000 in grants and fellowships for her research on the Basic Communication Course (COMM 1010). Her work in this area has resulted in three peer-reviewed journal articles, publication of an interactive digital textbook, the development of the Communication in Action workbook, and ten conference presentations.

Dr. Anderson-Lain was a UNT Faculty Senator (2020-2023) and served as Faculty Senate Vice-Chair (2022-2023) and chaired the Facutly Senate Executive Committee (2022-2023). Additionally, she co-chaired the Faculty Senate Committee on the Status of Women (2019-2021) and Teaching Effectiveness Committee (2023-2025).

In 2015, Dr. Anderson-Lain was competitively selected as a Teachers on Teaching by the National Communication Association. In 2018, Dr. Anderson-Lain was awarded the UNT Foundation Outstanding Lecturer Award. This award is the university's highest honor for full-time lecturers. In 2023, Dr. Anderson-Lain was the first lecturer at UNT to be awarded the President’s Council Service Award.

Dr. Anderson-Lain and her partner, Dr. Brian Lain, have two children.

Teaching

• COMM 1010: Introduction to Communication
• COMM 2020: Interpersonal Communication
• COMM 3320: Communication & Conflict Management
• COMM 3620: Intercultural Communication
• COMM 4020: Communication Theory
• COMM 4420: Relational Development
• COMM 5085: Pedagogy & Communication (graduate)

Research Interests

• Pedagogy and Communication: Service-learning and community engagement; assessment; critical pedagogy; popular culture pedagogy; narrative and pedagogy; online and blended learning
• Interpersonal & Health Communication: communication and aging; intergenerational communication; age-stereotypes; grandparent-grandchild relationships; media representations of aging; family communication

Selected Publications

Anderson-Lain, K., & Tam, A. (2025). Positioning/Orienting toward the communication classroom. In C. K. Rudick, K. B. Golsan, & K. Cheesewright (Eds.), Teaching from the Heart: Critical Communication Pedagogy in the Communication Classroom (pp. 41-62). Cognella.

Anderson-Lain, K., Mabrey, P., Voth, B., & Lain, B. (2023). Student learning outcomes and high-impact practices. In K. Young & D. Cram-Helwich (Eds.), Reimagining the future of intercollegiate debate: Pedagogy, practice, sustainability (pp. 22-30). American Forensic Association.

Lain, B., & Anderson-Lain, K. (2021). Demonstrating academic relevance and rigor: Linking the NCA Learning Outcomes in Communication to debate program assessment through portfolios. In D. Hample (Ed.) Local Theories of Argument: Selected Works from the 21st NCA/AGA Alta Conference on Argumentation. Routledge.

Hammonds, K., & Anderson-Lain, K. (2020). The Batman comes to class: Popular culture as a tool for addressing reflexive pain. Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy, 7 (1). http://journaldialogue.org/issues/v7-issue-1/the-batman-comes-to-class/

Lain, B., & Anderson-Lain, K. (2020). Networking debate and civic engagement: Measuring the impact of high school debate camp. In C. Winkler (Ed.), Networking Argument: Selected Works from the 20th NCA/AFA Alta Conference on Argumentation.

Lain, B., Anderson, K., & Oliver, L. (2017). Making debate normal: Different audiences and debate's pedagogical mission. Contemporary Argumentation & Debate.

Anderson-Lain, K. (2017). Cultural identity forum: Enacting the self-awareness imperative in intercultural communication. Communication Teacher, 31, 131-136. doi:10.1080/17404622.2017.1314529

Hammonds, K., & Anderson-Lain, K. (2016). A pedagogy of communion: Theorizing popular culture pedagogy. The Popular Culture Studies Journal, 4, 106-132. (Awarded the Michael T. Marsden Top Paper in Journal Award at Midwest PCA/ACA Annual Conference)

Selected Awards/Honors

• 2023 - President’s Council Service Award, University of North Texas (UNT), UNT Faculty Senate (First Lecturer to Receive Award). 
• 2022 - Nominated for Student Supervisor of the Year, UNT Career Center Student Employment Awards 
• 2020 - Top Paper Panel in Instructional Development Communication Division at the National Communication (NCA) Convention, Indianapolis, Indiana (Virtual- Paper co-authored with Rowdy Dale Farmer).
• 2018 - Outstanding Lecturer Award, University of North Texas, University Foundation (highest level University Award a Lecturer can receive at UNT)
• 2018 - Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching- Finalist, College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences (CLASS) Advisory Board Awards, University of North Texas
• 2018 - Distinguished Connect Partner Award, University of North Texas, Career Connect
• 2017 - Top Paper in Argumentation & Forensics Division at National Communication Association (NCA) Convention, Dallas, Texas. (Paper co-authored with Brian Lain and Laura Oliver)
• 2016 - Michael T. Marsden Paper Award from The Popular Culture Studies Journal (Paper co-authored with Kyle A. Hammonds)
• 2015 - Teachers on Teaching, Honoree, National Communication Association