During her more than 30 years at USC, Colleen Keough has designed and taught 22 different courses, served as public speaking course director, mentored dozens of instructors, and specialized in curriculum development. Her university service includes faculty mediation officer and Fulbright Scholar coach.

Her academic research interests include communication in alternative dispute resolution and negotiation, organizational culture, food communication, and civic engagement. Keough pursues engaged scholarship that integrates theoretical research and practical application and draws on her past industry experience as she works with academics to identify practitioner-oriented research projects. She is a past winner of the W. Charles Redding Dissertation Award from the International Communication Association’s Organizational Communication Division. (W. Charles Redding is also a USC alumnus.)

Keough has extensive organizational development and training experience in a variety of for-profit and non-profit organizations. She has spent many years working with managers and senior executives in the areas of conflict management skills, presentation effectiveness, relationship management, and all aspects of management training. Internationally, she has conducted strategic planning and financial management workshops in Central and Eastern Europe and negotiation workshops for Chinese and Japanese clients.

Keough has served as a volunteer facilitator with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Dispute Resolution office working on community issues through the “Days of Dialogue” program. Keough recently served on the board of directors of the American Spaniel Club and is now on the Strategic Planning Committee, specializing in communication and outreach activities. She has PhD from USC, an MA from Purdue University, and BA from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

Awards and honors:

W. Charles Redding Dissertation Award, Organizational Communication Division, International Communication Association (1989)
USC Mellon Award for Faculty Mentoring Nominee (2009)