Mississippi College Communication Faculty Earns National Award for Invaluable Service to State Association

Lindsey Dancy, assistant professor in the Department of Communication at MC, will receive the National Communication Association’s 2023 Service to the State Award at the MCA's annual conference at Mississippi College.

One of the nation’s largest organizations dedicated to supporting state communication associations has recognized a Mississippi College faculty member for the “significant contributions” she has made to the Mississippi Communication Association.

The National Communication Association’s National States Advisory Council has selected Lindsey Dancy, assistant professor in the Department of Communication at MC, for its 2023 Service to the State Award. The honor is presented annually to “a person who has gone above and beyond in their service to a state communication association,” according to Dr. S. Brad Bailey, NSAC second vice chair. The organization recognizes only one recipient of the Service to the State Award each year.

Dancy will receive a plaque during the Mississippi Communication Association’s annual conference Feb. 9 at Mississippi College.

Reid Vance, professor and chair of communication at MC, said Dancy was nominated by the MCA for her many years of service to the statewide organization as an officer and an ambassador.

“This award is presented to an individual who has gone above and beyond in their service to a state communication association,” Vance said. “The Department of Communication faculty and staff are proud of Dr. Dancy’s work for MCA and her dedication to our students and University.”

For almost 14 years, Dancy has served as executive secretary and treasurer of the Mississippi Communication Association, a scholarly not-for-profit organization that promotes the study, criticism, research, teaching, and appreciation of the artistic, humanistic, and scientific principles of communication. The MCA also seeks to create a sense of unity among high school, community college, and university communication departments in the state of Mississippi.

Vance said Dancy brings a personable approach to her responsibilities that resonates well with others.

“As a teacher at Mississippi College, she loves getting into the lives of her students,” Vance said. “She enjoys some of the one-on-one time. She helps them with their academics, she really gets to know them, and that’s the kind of person we want teaching in the Department of Communication.

“Our goal is to help students become successful communicators with their words, their skills, and their lives, and Dr. Dancy fits that to a ‘T.’”

Dancy, who joined the MCA in 2010 and was promptly voted in as its secretary/treasurer, said she felt honored to be recognized by the organization.

“The MCA has been a steady part of my life,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed serving the organization, and I’m thankful to have provided some consistency in my role.”

After obtaining her B.S. in psychology cum laude and her M.S. in applied communication cum laude from Mississippi College, Dancy served as an account executive and on-air personality for Star 93.5 in Clinton and was an adjunct instructor in the Department of Communication. She later became an assistant vice president and corporate training officer for Community Bancshares in Flowood after earning her Ph.D. in organizational and interpersonal communication at the University of Southern Mississippi, where she was a graduate teaching assistant. She rejoined the MC faculty as an assistant professor teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in interpersonal and organizational communication in 2022.

Throughout her career, she has remained dedicated to the MCA.

“She’s done an outstanding job promoting the organization, even when she was outside academia,” Vance said. “She’s been in the marketplace, the banking world, until she came back to MC. She was using her Ph.D. in communication in the banking world while maintaining an active leadership role in the MCA.

“She’s been instrumental in making sure the MCA conference takes place every year. She’s a fantastic resource for the organization.”

Dancy said it’s important for communication students at Mississippi College to see their faculty members earn state and national recognition for their contributions to the profession.

“Students want to know that they’re not the only ones doing work,” she said. “They want to see that faculty are actively doing things in the field in which they work. All of our faculty are involved in the Mississippi Communication Association. We have all served in leadership roles outside of academia, and we continue to hone our skills and interact with others in the discipline.

“Our students have an opportunity to become involved in the MCA. They can practice their presentation skills by presenting their original research in front of an audience. It’s important for them to understand what resources are available to them outside of the classroom and to continue to be active in academia while they embark on their communication careers.”

Vance said Dancy’s national accomplishment is a boon to his department.

“This award says that we hire good people who do good work and are dedicated to their job,” he said. “They’re not insular – they’re always looking to improve and to build relationships among their colleagues at different universities.

“Dr. Dancy has a lot of those connections and she does a great job. It speaks highly of our department that she’s a faculty member here when she could teach anywhere. But she chose Mississippi College.”

Dancy also serves as vice president of communication for the Mississippi chapter of the Association for Talent Development. An inductee of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, she was named to the Mississippi Business Journal’s “50 Leading Business Women” list in 2017.

She and her husband, Nathan, have two children: Patrick and Liza. They are active members of Crossgates Baptist Church in Brandon.