In May 2020, Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies Abhik Roy, Ph.D. concluded his distinguished teaching career in the LMU College of Communication and Fine Arts. Roy joined LMU in 2006, and since then he established himself as a dynamic and inspiring teacher, a top-notch scholar, and a seasoned mentor to both students and faculty alike.
Roy received his B.S. from St. Xavier’s College in Calcutta, India and his LL.B. from the University of Calcutta, India in 1979. He earned his M.S. from the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas in 1985. Following a career in advertising and communications consulting, Roy earned his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas with a focus in Rhetoric and Intercultural Communication.
Over the course of his academic career, Roy taught at several distinguished institutions, including Minnesota State University, Mankato, Metropolitan State University, and Howard University’s Department of Communication and Culture. Arriving at LMU as a tenured full professor, Roy served as the Department Chair of Communication Studies from 2006 to 2008.
During his time at LMU, he rigorously supported the University’s mission of educating students’ whole persons through his teaching. An advocate of active learning and critical self-reflection, Roy taught Intercultural Communication, affording students a critical exploration of identity, culture, and cross-cultural communication. He also made significant contributions to the communication studies curriculum through his courses on Spiritualism, Communication, and Loving Relationships and Mindful Living, Mindful Communication. Throughout all of his courses, Roy brought an interdisciplinary approach to educating students’ whole persons, engaging them intellectually and spiritually while also cultivating mindful communicative behaviors aimed at fostering respect, kindness, co-presence, and empathy. Students described him as a kind, compassionate, passionate, and a highly inspirational teacher who not only fostered their appreciation of the beauty and complexity of our cultural diversity but also equipped them with the skills to be compassionate men and women for others.
In addition to his talent in and outside of the classroom, Roy was also a highly esteemed scholar. With research interests in spiritual communication, intercultural communication, and mindful communication, he published a book, Selling Stereotypes: Images of Women in Indian Television Commercials, as well as nineteen peer-reviewed journal articles in well-respected journals. Throughout his career, Roy received numerous awards, ranging from Top Paper Awards from the National Communication Association and the International Communication Association to the prestigious B. Aubrey Fisher Best Article Award in 2003 from the Western States Communication Association. His expertise and accomplishment as a scholar was also recognized through several invited lectures at universities across the globe.
In the words of Craig Rich, Ph.D., Chair of the Communication Studies Department, “Abhik is the embodiment of a truly excellent teacher/scholar, in addition to being a dear friend and trusted mentor to many faculty in the department. Although his departure is bittersweet, we wish him all the best as he embarks on this new adventure and chapter of his life.”