Glenda Balas
MBA Ph.D.
Director (Academic & Strategy), Global Listening Centre.
Prof. : University of North Texas as Dallas.
Dr. Glenda Balas is Professor and former Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of North Texas at Dallas. Prior to joining UNT Dallas, Dr. Balas was Professor and Department Chair of the Communication and Journalism Department at the University of New Mexico. She also served as Associate Professor and Department Chair of Mass Communication at Sam Houston State University. Dr. Balas holds an M.B.A. degree from Eastern New Mexico University (1989) and a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Iowa (1999). Her background includes university teaching and administration, as well as 18 years of professional experience in public broadcasting, public relations, nonprofit development, and marketing. Her specialties for advising both non-profit and for-profit organizations include listening skills, social media, employee training, diversity & inclusion, grant writing, fundraising, event planning, and internal and external communications.
As a mass media scholar, Dr. Balas studies the role of listening in the development of quality, reliable news gathering and reporting. Of special interest is the way focused listening on the air (interviews) and with individuals and groups in the community can help broadcasters, editors, and writers hear from—and give voice to–underserved audiences.
Dr. Balas is also a Fulbright Scholar specializing in comparative research on public service broadcasting in Canada and the United States. She has produced a number of video documentaries on communication history and theories; her media research has been published in a range of communication and journalism journals; and she is the author of a book about the intellectual history of U.S. public broadcasting. Dr. Balas is also an award-winning teacher who has been recognized for her work with freshman learning communities, experiential learning, and international service learning. She recently traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand, as part of a Fulbright Service Corps team to teach English language classes for under-resourced primary school children in Chiang Mai.