Sarah J. Tracy (Ph.D., University of Colorado, 2000) is professor of organizational communication and qualitative methodology in The Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University. She is a Distinguished Scholar of The National Communication Association, Distinguished Teacher of The Western States Communication Association, and Director of The Transformation Project, a consortium of faculty, students, and community members who seek to discover and promote creative change processes that encourage healthy communication patterns, collaborative group behavior, and equitable forms of social organization.
Professor Tracy’s scholarly work examines emotion, communication, and identity in the workplace with focus on emotional labor, compassion, bullying, and organizational flourishing. She is an interdisciplinary leader in qualitative research methods—including participant observation, interviewing, focus groups, organizational training / intervention, document analysis and discourse analysis—and she hosts the Youtube channel Get Your Qual On. Her award-winning research has resulted in two books including Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis, Communicating Impact, by Wiley and now in its second edition. This book elucidates a contextual approach for problem-based iterative qualitative methodology, serving as a primary scholarly source on qualitative design and analysis, a practitioner’s resource for assessment, and a pedagogical resource for short courses, workshops, and graduate and undergraduate courses.
Tracy has published more than 90 scholarly monographs appearing in outlets such as Management Communication Quarterly, Communication Monographs, Communication Theory, Qualitative Inquiry, Health Communication, Journal of Management Studies, Human Communication Research, and Journal of Applied Communication Research. This research has been cited ~14,000 times.
Sarah has delivered over 75 keynotes and workshops worldwide for a variety of universities and organizations including Honeywell, Metropolitan Association of Business Executives, and City of Phoenix. Her work inspires communication that builds resilience in the face of organizational disruption and stress. Furthermore, Sarah regularly serves as a media resource—on topics such as workplace bullying, toxic positivity, and work-life balance—contributing to outlets such as National Public Radio, The Today Show, The Phoenix Business Journal, and The Arizona Republic.
organizational communication, emotion and wellness at work, compassion, leadership, qualitative research methods
Books
Book Chapters in last five years
Journal Articles (in last 5 years)
Spring 2021 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
COM 407 | Adv Critical Methods in Comm |
COM 492 | Honors Directed Study |
COM 493 | Honors Thesis |
COM 692 | Research |
COM 792 | Research |
COM 799 | Dissertation |
Fall 2020 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
COM 792 | Research |
COM 799 | Dissertation |
Summer 2020 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
COM 690 | Reading and Conference |
COM 799 | Dissertation |
Spring 2020 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
COM 499 | Individualized Instruction |
COM 609 | Adv Qual Research Meth Comm |
COM 692 | Research |
COM 792 | Research |
COM 799 | Dissertation |
Fall 2019 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
COM 407 | Adv Critical Methods in Comm |
COM 499 | Individualized Instruction |
COM 604 | Theory Construction in Comm |
COM 691 | Seminar |
COM 792 | Research |
COM 799 | Dissertation |
Summer 2019 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
COM 452 | Communication of Happiness |
COM 690 | Reading and Conference |
COM 799 | Dissertation |
Spring 2019 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
COM 407 | Adv Critical Methods in Comm |
COM 499 | Individualized Instruction |
COM 690 | Reading and Conference |
COM 792 | Research |
COM 799 | Dissertation |
Fall 2018 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
COM 492 | Honors Directed Study |
COM 604 | Theory Construction in Comm |
COM 609 | Adv Qual Research Meth Comm |
COM 692 | Research |
COM 792 | Research |
COM 799 | Dissertation |
Summer 2018 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
COM 799 | Dissertation |
Spring 2018 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
COM 452 | Communication of Happiness |
COM 691 | Seminar |
COM 792 | Research |
COM 799 | Dissertation |
Fall 2017 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
COM 499 | Individualized Instruction |
COM 604 | Theory Construction in Comm |
COM 609 | Adv Qual Research Meth Comm |
COM 692 | Research |
COM 792 | Research |
COM 799 | Dissertation |
Summer 2017 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
COM 452 | Communication of Happiness |
COM 692 | Research |
COM 799 | Dissertation |
Spring 2017 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
COM 494 | Special Topics |
COM 499 | Individualized Instruction |
COM 690 | Reading and Conference |
COM 792 | Research |
COM 799 | Dissertation |
Fall 2016 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
COM 499 | Individualized Instruction |
COM 604 | Theory Construction in Comm |
COM 690 | Reading and Conference |
COM 691 | Seminar |
COM 792 | Research |
COM 799 | Dissertation |
Summer 2016 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
COM 692 | Research |
COM 799 | Dissertation |
2016-2018 –Jeanne Lind Herberger Chaired Professor (elected by faculty peers; recognizes excellence in scholarship; The Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, ASU)
2015 Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence, Highly Commended article. http://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/authors/literati/awards.htm?year=2015
Top Four Paper Award, Organizational Communication Division, National Communication Association, 2015
Grazier Keynote Scholar, University of S. Florida, April, 2015 http://communication.usf.edu/about/grazier/
University of N. Carolina-Charlotte Communication Week Keynote Lecturer, April, 2015
Marsico Visiting Scholar, University of Denver, January, 2014
Bill Eadie Distinguished Award for Top Scholarly Article from the Applied Communication Division of the National Communication Association, 2012
Top Four Paper Award, Health Comm. Division, National Communication Association, 2012
Top Four Paper Award, Organizational Communication Division, Western States Communication Association, 2011
Keynote Speaker, James Madison University’s 32nd Communication Studies Conference. Getting Our Hands Dirty: Communicating, Organizing & Making a Difference, 2010
Published Article of the Year Award, Ethnography Division, National Communication Association, 2010
Top Paper Award, Ethnography Division, National Communication Association, 2010
Published Article of the Year Award, Applied Communication Division, National Communication Association, 2007
Promotion and Tenure Exemplar – Arizona State University (Named by University President as one of six faculty “exemplars” across the ~40 university P&T cases in 2006)
Published Article of the Year Award, Ethnography Division, National Communication Association, 2005
Top Paper Award, Organizational Communication Division, Western States Communication Association, 2005
Top Paper Award, Organizational Communication Division, Western States Communication Association, 2004
Winner, Gerald R. Miller Outstanding Dissertation Award, National Communication Association (across all divisions), 2001
Honorable Mention (First Runner Up), W. Charles Redding Dissertation Award, Organizational Communication Division, International Communication Association, 2001
Top Four Paper, Ethnography Division, National Communication Association, 2001
Top Paper, Organizational Communication Division, International Communication Assoc., 2001
Top Four Paper & Top Student Paper, Language & Social Interaction Division, International Communication Association, 1999
Top Four Paper, Language and Social Interaction Division, National Communication Association, 1997
Editorial Board Member for:
Journal of Applied Communication Research, 2014-present
Communication Monographs, 2013-present
Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, 2013-present
Management Communication Quarterly, 2002-present
Women and Language, 2010-2015
Communication Studies, 2002-2006; 2008-2015
Qualitative Communication Research, 2011-2013
Western Journal of Communication, 2006-2013
Communication Yearbook, 2011
Communication Theory, 2008-2011
Human Relations, 2007-2010
International Journal of Management Studies & Research, 2008-2009
Communication Research Reports, 2005-2007
National Communication Association (NCA) International Communication Association (ICA) Western States Communication Association (WSCA) Organization for the Study of Women and Language (OSCLG)
Ph.D. Students - Completed
Ph.D. Co-Advisor, Margaret Hinrichs. 2016. Negotiating (inter)disciplinary identity in integrative graduate education.
Ph.D. Committee, Amy Jung, 2016. Communication strategies contributing to the positive identities of third culture kids: An intercultural communication perspective on identity.
Ph.D. Advisor, Louise Clark, 2015. Grieving adolescents co-perform collective compassion in a concert of emotions as they Stop! In the Name of Love at Comfort Zone Camp.
Ph.D. Co-Advisor, Trisha K. Hoffman, 2015. Exploring Communal Coping: Witnessing the Process of Empowerment Unfold During Shared Medical Appointments.
Ph.D. Co-Advisor, Tara Franks, 2015. Hair Raising Humor: A Critical Qualitative Analysis of Humor, Gender, and Hegemony in the Hair Industry.
Ph.D. Advisor, Shawna Malvini Redden, 2013. How discourses cast airport security characters: A discourse tracing and qualitative analysis of identity and emotional performances.
Ph.D. Committee, Timothy Huffman, 2013. Organizing compassionate communication: Pragmatic fieldwork with nonprofits and homeless young adults. Employment: Tenure-
Ph.D. Advisor, Jennifer Scarduzio, 2012. Emotion cycles, sensegiving, and sensebreaking in the municipal courtroom.
Ph.D. Committee, Amy Way, 2012. Apprentices & worker bees: Discursive constructions of youth’s work identity.
Ph.D. Committee, Yvonne Montoya, 2012. Hispanic entrepreneurs’ anticipatory work-life socialization: Conceptual analysis of narrative accounts.
Ph.D. Committee, Jie Young Kong, 2012. Opening fields through Aikido: An embodied dialogic practice at a martial art dojo.
Ph.D. Advisor, Kendra Rivera, 2010. Emotional labor, dirty work and the “face of immigration” at the U.S. Border Patrol.
Ph.D. Advisor, Deborah Way, 2010. Recognizing, relating and responding: Hospice workers and the communication of compassion.
Ph.D. Committee, Lucas Messer, 2010. Queer migrant culture: Undocumented queer Latinos and queer clubs in Phoenix.
Ph.D. Committee, Emily Cripe, 2010. Breastfeeding Support Explored through Mixed Methods: How Support Groups can Function as an Effective Health Intervention.
Ph.D. Committee, Karen Stewart, 2010. From ritual to spectacle: A narrative journey into the communal heart of public art at the Burning Man festival.
Ph.D. Committee, Miriam Sobre, 2009. More than the sum of its parts: The story of a cosmopolitan third culture social support group.
Ph.D. Committee, Marianne LeGreco, Spring 2007. Consuming Policy: Organizing School Meal Programs to Promote Healthy Eating Practices.
Ph.D. Committee, Shelley Erickson (Justice Studies), Fall 2007. Engineering the hidden curriculum: How women doctoral students in engineering navigate belonging.
Ph.D. Co-Advisor, Kurt Lindemann, Summer 2006. Living out of bounds, pushing toward normalcy: (Auto)ethnographic performances of disability and masculinity in wheelchair rugby.
Ph.D. Committee, Andrea Lewis, Summer, 2006. Communicating lesbian identity: Critically analyzing popular culture representations and occupational narratives.
Ph.D. Advisor, Pamela Lutgen-Sandvik, Summer 2005. Water smoothing stones: Subordinate resistance to workplace bullying.
Ph.D. Committee, Clifton Scott, Spring 2005. The discursive organization of risk and safety: How firefighters manage occupational hazards.
M.A. Students – Completed
Committee Member, Kaitlin Vortherms, 2016. Engineering Empathy. School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment.
Advisor, Elizabeth K. Eger (formally Rush), 2010. The Conceptual Construction of Innovation: Performance Labor to Manufacture Mood, Chase Goals, and Assemble Success in Incubator Organizations.
Committee Member, Amy Way, Spring, 2008. On your mark: Constructing an alternate discourse of femininity through running.
Advisor, Yvonne Montoya, 2005-2007. Advised through comprehensive exams and thesis prospectus defense. She forego completion and entered straight into the ASU PhD.
Committee Member, Erin Gavin, Spring 2007. Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling: Women Helping Women Climb the Corporate Ladder.
Advisor, Sundae R. Bean. Summer, 2006. Exploring tourist-host encounters through communication, culture and identity.
Co-Advisor, Jennifer Mease. Summer, 2005. Doing white identity, (un)doing whiteness: A field study at the intersection of white identity and the discourse of whiteness.
Committee Member, Milissa Hutloff Koehler. Fall, 2005. Politics of privacy: The handling of privacy violations experienced by graduate teaching assistants.
Co-Advisor, Sara McKinnon, Summer 2004. Navigating Deserts: Interpretive Research of the “Lost Boys of Sudan” Identity and Settlement.
Advisor, Kimberly Cantrell, Summer, 2003. The language of power: Tensions of cultural identity, power, and language negotiation onboard a multicultural cruise ship.
Committee Member, Marianne LeGreco, Fall 2002. Organizing the Politics of Public and Private: A Case Study of the First Governor-Mom.
Professional Leadership and Service Positions
Nominating Committee Member (2016-2017), National Communication Associations (meet annually, and throughout year recruit, deliberate and determine candidates for committees across the association).
Past Chair (2016), Chair (2015), Vice-Chair & Program Planner (2014), Vice-Chair Elect & Preconference Program Planner (2013) Ethnography Division, National Communication Association.
Chair (2014), Vice-Chair (2013), Member (2012), Doctoral Education Committee, National Communication Association, 2012-2014.
Program Planner (2014 & 2015). The Conference on Ontological Inquiry. University of California Los Angeles, March, 2015. Contact: Tony Zampella.
Program Planner (2014 & 2015) and Chair (2016); Organizational Communication Application Domain. The Conference on Organizational Communication Traditions, Transitions, and Transformation. Austin, Texas. http://www.commstudies.txstate.edu/organizational-conference.html
Chair & Program Planner (2006-2007) and Vice-Chair (2005-2006), Organizational Communication Interest Group, WSCA.
Program Planner / Scholarship Chair, The 2nd Annual Nuevo Dia Southwest Organizational Communication Conference, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; January, 2005.
Co-Secretary & Executive Committee, Organizational Commun. Division, NCA, 2003-2005.
Member/Referee, Ethnography Division Awards Committee, NCA, 2005.
Member/Referee, Organizational Communication Division Awards Committee, NCA, 2002.
Member, Student Affairs Committee, ICA, 2001-2003.
Secretary, Organizational Communication Division, WSCA, 2002-2003.
Member, Board of Directors, International Communication Association, 1999-2001.
Co-chair, Student Affairs Committee, International Communication Association, 1999-2001.
Co-chair, Membership Committee, Organizational Communication Division, ICA, 2001.