Kevin S. Trowbridge
Ph.D., APR, MPRCA

Created, Called & Connected

Dr. Trowbridge is passionate about helping others realize who God created them to be so they can do what God called them to do. He believes we were made for relationships. Even his name—a bridge is a quintessential metaphor for a relationship—is a steadfast reminder to facilitate meaningful connections. He revels in helping to build bridges among ideas, concepts, theories, people, groups, and organizations. That’s what he has done as a strategic communication professional and now gets to do every day on the faculty at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. 

Education

Trowbridge holds a Ph.D. in Communication with an emphasis in public relations and social media from Regent University. He earned his master’s in communication with a concentration in interpersonal and organizational communication from The University of Memphis. Prior to that, he received a bachelor’s degree in communication arts with an emphasis in public relations from Union University.

At Belmont

Trowbridge joined the public relations faculty at Belmont in 2011. In his first year, he developed and taught Social Media & Public Relations and Public Relations Design & Production to prepare future professionals to use emerging technologies for strategic communication. This was just the beginning of his collaboration with colleagues to strengthen the growing program with an innovative and forward-thinking curriculum. For a decade, he served as the faculty adviser to Tower Creative Communications, Belmont’s student-run strategic communication agency.

In 2020, Trowbridge spearheaded the development and launch of a new Social Media Management program for the Department of Public Relations and collaborated with his colleagues to create a new graduate program, the Master of Science in Strategic Communication and Leadership. After having taught most of the public relations courses offered at Belmont in his first 10 years, now he regularly teaches social media, senior capstone, and graduate courses. Additionally, Trowbridge serves as the department chair and graduate program director.

Before Belmont

Prior to coming to Belmont, Trowbridge taught public relations and journalism courses at Lee University, where he also oversaw the student media operations. He also has experience in curriculum development, course design, and teaching at Regent University, Tidewater Community College, and Union University.

Trowbridge, who is Accredited in Public Relations (APR), brings to the classroom nearly a decade of full-time professional experience. Before returning to academia, he served as vice president for communications at the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), an international higher education association headquartered in Washington, D.C. Other experiences include work in public relations, marketing, and corporate communications in higher education, healthcare, and financial institutions. Trowbridge remains active in strategic communication practice through consulting and pro bono services to local organizations.

Research & Scholarly Activity

Trowbridge has always been captivated by how people and organizations use technologies to communicate purposefully and strategically. This fascination has driven much of his research since he was an undergraduate student. In the late 1990s, he began studying identity, self-presentation, and relationships on mIRC, a popular internet relay chat (IRC) client. This was cutting-edge at the time. In fact, his graduate school research introduced many of his professors to the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) for relational communication.  As web-based and mobile technologies evolved, so did Trowbridge’s research interests. Using the frameworks of Diffusion of Innovations theory and Sensemaking methodology, Trowbridge examines how new and emerging media technologies affect the relationships among users and organizations. Specifically, he has focused much of his research and scholarly activity on social media, organization-public relationships, and the blurring of strategic communication practices. Other interests include faith and public relations; faith and social media; and curriculum, instruction, and assessment in strategic communication education. Trowbridge continues to study and share his research through presentations and publications.

Affiliations

Trowbridge is engaged in professional and academic organizations, including the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA), Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), and the Social Media Club (SMC). He has been involved with PRSA at the local, district and national levels, including service as chair of the PRSA Southeast District, comprised of 11 chapters and about 2,200 members. Previously, he served his local PRSA chapters as president, vice president, professional development chair, membership chair, accreditation co-chair, and PRSSA liaison. Additionally, Dr. Trowbridge has been involved with other professional organizations including the International Communication Association (ICA), National Communication Association (NCA), Southern States Communication Association (SSCA), Tennessee Communication Association (TCA), and the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).

Personal

In his leisure time, Trowbridge enjoys playing with old and new toys—from Potato Heads and LEGO bricks to drones and smart home technologies. More than that, Kevin loves every minute with his wife of more than 20 years, Robyn Clifford Trowbridge. They live in Smyrna, Tennessee, and are members of Belle Aire Baptist Church in Murfreesboro. They are the gushing aunt and uncle of three niblings who live in South Carolina. Kevin and Robyn are the fur parents to an adorable American Cocker Spaniel named Hank.