James Mcdonald, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Communication
Contact
- MS 4.01.60
- James.Mcdonald@utsa.edu
- Curriculum Vitae
Bio
Dr. McDonald received his bachelor’s degree in Communication and Political Science from the Université de Montréal, his master’s degree in Communication from the Université de Montréal, and his doctoral degree Communication from the University of Colorado Boulder. He also earned a Graduate Certificate in Women and Gender Studies and a Graduate Teaching Certificate from the University of Colorado Boulder. He joined the faculty at UTSA in 2013.
Dr. McDonald is an organizational communication scholar who specializes in issues related to identity, difference, and organizing. His research examines topics such as the closeting of invisible and stigmatized identities in organizations, researcher reflexivity in qualitative research, the experiences of immigrant scholars and students in higher education, queer approaches to organizing, and occupational segregation.
His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Communication Theory; Management Communication Quarterly; the Journal of Applied Communication Research; Management Learning; Gender, Work and Organization; and the Journal of Management Inquiry. He also co-organizes the biennial International Qualitative Research in Management and Organizations conference, which aims to celebrate the interdisciplinary and pluralistic nature of qualitative organizational research, as well as to support qualitative researchers engage in imaginative, thought-provoking, and reflexive work.
Dr. McDonald is an award-winning teacher and received the UTSA President’s Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching Excellence in 2024. He is strongly committed to fostering an engaging learning environment that enables students to be develop strong critical thinking skills and be independent thinkers.
Teaching
- COM 3070 | Conduct of Communication Inquiry
- COM 3083 | Language and Communication Theory
- COM 3893 | Organizational Communication
- COM 4813 | Special Topics: Gender and Diversity at Work
- COM 5003 | Introduction to Graduate Studies
- COM 5013 | Communication Theory
- COM 5033 | Qualitative Research Methods
- COM 5103 | Theory and Applications of Organizational Communication
- COM 5413 | Seminar in Organizations: Communicating Difference at Work
Research Interests
- Organizational communication
- identity and difference
- disclosure and closeting processes
- qualitative research methods
Degrees
- Ph.D. in Organizational Communication, University of Colorado Boulder (2013)
- M.Sc. in Organizational Communication, Université de Montréal (2008)
- B.Sc. in Communication and Political Science, Université de Montréal (2006)
