Regents' Professors and Teachers

Dr. Ann Burnette teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in political communication, American public address, persuasion, rhetorical criticism, and public speaking. She also works with students from the Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center for the legally blind. She has received the Texas State University Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching. Her teaching has also been honored by the Southern States Communication Association and the Texas State Alumni Association. She publishes scholarship on presidential rhetoric, campaign persuasion, women in public address, and freedom of expression issues. She has shared her insights on political rhetoric on national news media such as The Washington Post and NBC News.

Dr. Ian Davidson is Regents’ and University Distinguished Professor of Music. An oboist, Dr. Davidson has appeared as soloist and chamber musician in thirty countries on six continents. He has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and his many international concerts have taken him to Italy, England, Russia, Brazil, Argentina, Scotland, Austria, Slovakia, Poland, China, Hungary, Czech Republic, Australia, and the Republic of South Africa. International recitals and residencies include the Moscow Conservatory of Music, Hong Kong Baptist University, the University of Silesia, Trinity College of Music in London, the Institute of Culture in St. Petersburg, the University of Piaui in Brazil, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa and the State Conservatory of Music in Bratislava. He has earned a Grammy nomination and his numerous recording credits include duets with Willie Nelson on the PBS show Austin City Limits, classical recordings with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, and multiple film scores. He is a founding member of the Wild Basin Winds, an Austin-based national woodwind quintet that has performed in such locations as the Kennedy Center and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and has commissioned, recorded and premiered dozens of new works.

Dr. Steven A. Beebe is Regents’ and University Distinguished Professor of Communication Studies. He served as Chair of the Department of Communication Studies for 28 years and Associate Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication for 25 years. Dr. Beebe has been a Visiting Scholar at both Oxford University and Cambridge University. Dr. Beebe is author and co-author of 12 books (with multiple editions totaling more than 70 books) that have been used at hundreds of colleges and universities throughout the world, including Russian and Chinese editions. He has authored or co-authored more than 50 published articles and book chapters, plus over 150 papers and presentations at professional conferences. In 2013 Dr. Beebe served as President of the National Communication Association (NCA), the largest professional communication association in the world. He is a founding member of the Russian Communication Association and co-director of the first Russian Communication Association conference in Pyatigorsk, Russia. He is in demand as a communication consultant, trainer, and speaker listing such clients as IBM, 3M, American Express, U. S. Air Force, Prentice-Hall, Pearson, and the U.S. Department of Education. The National Speaker’s Association has named him Outstanding Communication Professor in America.