Throughout her 27 years as a faculty member at Slippery Rock University, Dr. Valerie Swarts distinguished herself as a role model to her colleagues, a dedicated professional serving the department and university, and a tireless advocate for her students.
Dr. Swarts taught a variety of communication classes to students in all of the Communication concentrations and across the university - courses including Public Speaking, Communication Concepts, Small Group Communication, Dyadic Communication, Argumentation, Persuasion, Communication Theory, and Visual Literacy. Dr. Swarts' legacy, however, may most firmly lie in her many years of dedicated stewardship of our Senior Capstone Seminar course. From mock interviews to portfolio development, and from lectures on business etiquette to professional presentation development, Dr. Swarts' personalized attention to generations of students gave them the skills they needed to step confidently into the workforce and become ambassadors of our department and university.
Dr. Swarts received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Education from Wichita State Univeristy, her Master of Arts degree in Rhetorical Studies from Colorado State University, and her Ph.D in Rhetorical Studies from the University of Iowa.
