Dr. Michael Kearney

Dr. Michael R. Kearney serves as assistant professor of communication at Dordt University.

His research interests include religious communication, crisis communication, and communication ethics.

“Dordt’s commitment to the Reformed Christian tradition inspires me in terms of teaching, scholarship, and service,” says Kearney. “I am looking forward to joining this community of teachers and scholars who care deeply about students, the church, and their fields of study.”

Dr. Kearney remains actively engaged in research, regularly contributing to books and peer-reviewed journal articles. Most recently, he authored A Communication Ethic of Dialogic Reformation: Nicholas of Cusa on Care for Communities in Crisis. Among his notable works, the article “Melanchthon’s Didactic Genre and the Rhetoric of Reformation,” published in Rhetorica: A Journal of the History of Rhetoric (2022), earned both the 2022 Religious Communication Association Article of the Year Award and the 2024 Rhetorica Award.

Prior to his time at Dordt, Dr. Kearney's professional experience included teaching at Duquesne University and Geneva College, as well as conducting research in communication and rhetoric. He has also participated in the Erasmus+ Student Mobility program in Poland.

In addition to his academic work, Dr. Kearney is an active organist, pianist, and composer. He is also the founder of the URC Psalmody blog, which promotes education and fellowship among Reformed and Presbyterian church musicians.

Dean for the Arts and Humanities Luke Hawley adds, “He has an infectious energy when he talks about subjects he is interested in, whether it be communication or organ. I think that eagerness will be infectious for Dordt students who take his courses.”

Education

• Ph.D. in Rhetoric, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh.
• M.A. in Rhetoric and Philosophy of Communication, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh.
• B.A. in Communication (Concentration in Public Relations), Geneva College, Beaver Falls.