Professor Carson Wagner Joins Department of Advertising

The University of Texas Department of Advertising welcomes Assistant Professor Carson Wagner.

Professor Carson Wagner received his PhD in Communication from the University of Colorado in Boulder. Prior to that, he obtained his M.A. in Media Studies from Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Wagner's research interests focus on the effects of public service announcements (PSAs) and internet advertising. Dr. Wagner is extremely interested in health communication and spent many years studying the effects of PSAs about drugs. His Master's Thesis on this topic was utilized in a review of Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign spending.

While in the middle of "comps" and waiting to defend them at the University of Colorado, Dr. Wagner attended a conference where University of Texas Professor Pat Stout presented a paper on health communication. According to Dr. Wagner, he had never thought about going into advertising until meeting Dr. Stout. She urged him to apply for an open faculty position in the Advertising Department at the University of Texas. His interactions with Dr. Stout and Dr. Gary Wilcox encouraged him to come to UT - "I had a great time with everyone I met." He liked the faculty and felt comfortable in the Department. These feelings "weighed heavily" on his decisions and "spoke volumes."

In addition to feeling at home at the University of Texas, Dr. Wagner accepted a faculty position because of the program's reputation. Dr. Wagner feels that his research will add to the advertising program. He is "strictly an experimentalist" and the University's dedicated space for research was a big attractor. Dr. Wagner believes that he can also help strengthen UT's health communication programs by working with Dr. Stout and as well as professors in Communication Studies.

When asked why he chose the University of Texas, Dr. Wagner said, "#1: The Faculty, #2 The Reputation." Dr. Wagner knows that the University of Texas Department of Advertising is highly touted and feels that "you couldn't do any better" than to work here. According to Dr. Wagner, the faculty is also "nice and cool and that's a huge bonus."

12/9/2002