Dr. Dawna Ballard

Biography

Dawna Ballard is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the Moody College of Communication, University of Texas at Austin. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California at Santa Barbara and specializes in organizational communication and technology, with a focus on chronemics, the study of time-bound human communication. Her research examines how the pace of life impacts communication practices and the long-term vitality of organizations, communities, and individuals. Dr. Ballard's upcoming book, 'Time Design: Communicating Slow Allows Go Fast', released in December 2025, introduces chronemic design and offers practical strategies for effective communication in various contexts. She has been awarded the prestigious 2025 David Meyers Research Award for her article 'Unhurried Conversations in Health Care: Important Than Ever — Identifying Key Communication Practices for Careful Kind Care,' published in the Annals of Family Medicine. Her work is frequently featured in mainstream news outlets such as The New York Times, Fortune, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, Forbes, NBC News, and NPR, and she is sought after by global think tanks such as the Aspen Institute and the European House Ambrosetti. A dedicated member of the National Communication Association and the International Communication Association, Dr. Ballard co-directs an internship program and teaches courses on group communication, teams, and communities, as well as the art of chronemics.

Research Interests