Dave Junker teaches writing courses for public relations majors and special topics courses in communication and culture. He is director of the Moody College Honors Program for the college and faculty adviser for both UT-Austin's chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America. He is winner of both the 2013 Moody College of Communication Teaching Excellence Award and the 2014 University of Texas System Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award.
In his public relations classes, Dr. Junker teaches strategic communication as a dynamic process that requires proficiency in journalistic writing, advanced skills in critical thinking and a broad awareness of current events, public opinion and social relations. His Public Relations Techniques class integrates service learning projects for local nonprofits so students can practice strategic communication in the real world while benefitting the community. His communication and culture classes shed light on issues of diversity and race relations through popular music and the social movements and media discourses related to it. Dr. Junker's approach to teaching is a product of his wide-ranging professional experience and interdisciplinary academic background. He has worked as a musician and music publicist, as well as a journalist in the areas of community affairs and arts and entertainment.
He has also been a regular contributor to the national satirical newspaper The Onion, including the best-selling books Our Dumb Century and The Onion's Finest News Reporting. With a master's degree in Afro-American studies and doctorate in English, Dr. Junker also writes about literature, popular music and public relations writing.
