Faculty/Staff
Dr. Robbyn Taylor
Director, Hall School of Journalism and Communication
Assistant Professor of Journalism and Communication Studies
Robbyn Brooks Taylor is the director of Hall School of Journalism and Communication where she also teaches undergraduate, masters and doctoral students . She earned both her B.S. in Broadcast Journalism and M.S. in Strategic Communication from Troy University and completed her Ph.D. in Communication at Regent University. Dr. Taylor specializes in mobile journalism and multimedia journalism techniques, and also works with the department's broadcast, advertising and public relations students. Dr. Taylor was the student publications adviser for Troy's student newspaper, The Tropolitan, and the school's yearbook, The Palladium until June 2022 when she became the school's director. Before joining the Hall School's faculty, Dr. Taylor worked as a photojournalist at WSFA in Montgomery; a reporter at WNCF in Montgomery; a reporter, mobile journalist, columnist and editor for Freedom Communications in Northwest Florida (The Destin Log, The Northwest Florida Daily News and The Crestview News Bulletin), an international spokesperson and media coordinator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in Washington, D.C. and as managing editor of The Messenger in Troy. Dr. Taylor has garnered awards for her journalism writing both in Florida and Alabama, and has won top paper awards from divisions in the Southern States Communication Association, the National Communication Association and the Religious Communication Association. Dr. Taylor is the immediate past-president Southeast Journalism Conference and on the editorial board of the journal Artifact Analysis.
Dr. Bridgette Colaco
Assistant Professor of Journalism and Communication Studies
Dr. Bridgette Colaco is an assistant professor in the Hall School of Journalism and Communication. She also serves as the Hall School's Graduate Studies Coordinator. She brings more than 25 years of professional and academic experience in journalism and international communications to the Hall School. Her last professional title was Assistant Editor of Hindustan Times English daily in Mumbai, India. She received her Ph.D. in Mass Communication and Media Arts from The University of Southern Illinois, Carbondale. She has obtained an International Diploma in Advanced Journalism from the Thomson Foundation at Cardiff University, Wales where she held a Jean Rich scholarship. She is a fellow of the Business Journalism Professors program at Arizona State University.
Hanna Cooper
Lecturer of Journalism and Communication Studies
Hanna Cooper is a lecturer in the Hall School of Journalism and Communication and also serves as adviser for Troy's student newspaper, The Tropolitan. She earned both her B.S. in Broadcast Journalism and M.S. in Strategic Communication from Troy University, and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. Strategic Media at Liberty University. Ms. Cooper worked in the sports media industry for six years, most recently as the assistant director of communications at Texas Tech University, where she oversaw sports information duties for the Red Raider Soccer and Red Raider Softball programs. She has worked with the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl when the bowl game was a College Football Playoff Semifinal, been to an NCAA Softball Regional and worked for the Troy Women's Basketball program during their Sun Belt Regular Season Championship run.
Dr. Amanda Diggs
Associate Professor of Communication Studies
Dr. Amanda Diggs is an associate professor of communication in Troy University's Hall
School of Journalism and Communication. She also serves as the Hall School's Coordinator
of Assessment. She earned her B.S. in Broadcast Journalism and Social Science from
Troy University, her M.A. in Communication from Auburn University and her Ph.D. in
Pharmaceutical Sciences majoring in Pharmacy Care Systems with Communication and Socio-Behavioral
emphases from Auburn University. Dr. Diggs' teaching interests are communication studies,
health communication, strategic communication and cultural communication.
Morgan Drinkard
Lecturer of Public Relations and Advertising
Morgan Hooper Drinkard is a lecturer of public relations and multimedia communication in the Hall School and serves as adviser for the university's yearbook, The Palladium. She received her B.S. in Broadcast Journalism/Public Relations from Troy University and her M.A. in Public Relations from The University of Alabama. Before joining Troy's teaching staff full-time, she served as the executive director of the Johnson Center for the Arts.
Dr. Stefanie East
Assistant Professor of Journalism and Communication Studies
Stefanie Hicks East is an assistant professor in the Hall School of Journalism and Communication. She earned both her B.S. in Broadcast Journalism and M.S. in Strategic Communication from Troy University and her Ph.D. in Communication from Regent University. Dr. East worked in the media industry for nearly 20 years, most recently as the evening news anchor at Alabama News Network, the CBS and ABC affiliates for central, west, and south Alabama. While there she was awarded “Best TV News Anchor” by the Alabama Associated Press, and “Best News Series” by both the Alabama Associated Press and the Alabama Broadcaster's Association. She began her career at WTVY in Dothan, Alabama, where she anchored and produced the morning newscast. After her news career, she transitioned into PR where she served as the director of communications for the State of Alabama's Office of Information Technology.
Mike J. Gray
Lecturer of Communication Studies
Mike J. Gray is a lecturer of communication studies in the Hall School and serves as the advisor for Trojan Debate. He holds B.A. degrees in both Communication Studies and Philosophy and received his M.A. in Communication Studies from Arkansas State University in 2013. Mr. Gray has more than 20 combined years of experience in public speaking and competitive debate experience. His areas of interest are intercollegiate debate, popular communication, Indigenous studies, and pedagogy.
Dr. Shari Hoppin
Associate Professor of Journalism and Communication Studies
Dr. Shari Hoppin is an associate professor in the Hall School of Journalism and Communication. She earned a B.A. from the University of Ottawa, Canada, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Southern California. Dr. Hoppin is the author of The Dark Side of Persuasion. She has published articles and delivered conference presentations at regional, national, and international levels. Dr. Hoppin taught at the University of Southern California and at Florida State University before joining the faculty at Troy University. She is a member of the University's graduate faculty and teaches in the Master of Science in Strategic Communication degree program in addition to teaching undergraduate courses. Her other professional and academic experience includes working as a reporter and editor and coordinating the Hall School's internship program. She has won awards for news feature writing, service and student advising. Her current research interests include the philosophy of communication, persuasion and influence, and communication in health care contexts.
David "Doc" Kirby
Lecturer of Journalism and Communication Studies
David Kirby has been a full-time lecturer for the Hall School of Journalism and Communication since 2006. He received his B.M.E. from Troy University and his M.S.E from Troy University and also holds 21 semester hours of additional graduate work in communications. Mr. Kirby specializes in broadcast journalism and communication technology, bringing decades of real-world broadcast experience to the classroom. Mr. Kirby is well-known for his radio daily book review show, his weekly half-hour interview show on the radio, and his On The Bookshelf podcast - which has more than 500 episodes. Kirby works with the Troy University Jazz program in the John M. Long School of Music at Troy University. He is a retired United Methodist Church minister, and is the Operations/Program Manager for Troy Broadcasting Corporation.
Dr. Ava Tabb
Lecturer of Journalism
Dr. Ava Tabb is a lecturer in the Hall School. She received her B.A. from The University of Alabama and her M.S. from Northwestern University and her Ph.D. in Instructional Design from Auburn University. Her primary teaching interests are multimedia journalism, digital photography and advertising. Dr. Tabb's professional experience includes working as a general assignment at the Andalusia Star daily newspaper and as a writer for the Birmingham Business Journal. Prior to joining the Hall School's faculty, Dr. Tabb taught at Miles College.
Sommer Tate
Lecturer of Journalism and Communication Studies
Sommer L. Tate is a lecturer in the Hall School of Journalism and Communication. She earned her B.S in Journalism and M.S. in Strategic Communication from Troy University. Ms. Tate has more than 10 years of teaching experience in the communication field. In this time, she has taught numerous courses in public speaking, media law and ethics, public relations, editing with design and media writing. Ms. Tate taught at Auburn University at Montgomery prior to Troy University. There she earned the Distinguished Lecturer award in 2022, a recognition from the chancellor based on her contributions, campus activity and teaching effectiveness. During her undergraduate studies at Troy University, she was an active member of The Tropolitan staff working as a writer, co-sports editor and business manager. Her areas of interest are pop culture in communication, public relations campaigns, page design and gender communication.Bio coming soon.
Jordan Bynum
Department Secretary
Jordan Bynum is a Troy University graduate with a B.S. in Biology. She plans to pursue a Master's Degree in Marine Biology eventually, but in the meantime, she is the Departmental Secretary for the Hall School of Journalism and Communication. She has been a part of the Troy community for the past five years and has worked as a receptionist and an administrative assistant in that time. She is excited to continue to be a part of the Trojan community in the years to come.