PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (March 9, 2023) – The written word is particularly important to Reginald Bell, professor of management and business communication at Prairie View A&M University. And, because it is important to him, it has become an increasingly important aspect of the College of Business experience.
Reginald Bell, Ph.D.
As part of his classroom work, in particular, his class on Executive Managerial Communication, Bell has steered an increasing number of students toward having their work published in peer-reviewed journals. Many of these efforts list Bell as a co-author, and many have been cited by prominent authors across the globe and have received awards and recognition at various conferences.
“In academics, the highest standard is publication,” said Bell, who noted that his primary role, besides teaching, is mentoring student authors. “Publishing is the quintessential measure and standard for faculty members. I think that teaching students how to write well enough to be published is — I don’t know of any higher standard.”
Recently published work shepherded by Bell includes two papers appearing in the American Journal of Management (“The Leader as Effective Communicator,” by authors Joshua E. Chatman, Ashia Johnson, Earney White, and Bell; and “Emotional Intelligence and Managerial Communication,” by authors Tiffany Nguyen, Shayla White, Kenneth Hall, Wayne Ballentine, and Bell). The Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics recently published “Using an Integrated System Approach to Manage Conflict,” by husband-and-wife duo Chanique and Corey Williams, Richard Jones, Bell and Reginald Holloway.
Lawrence Trautman, an associate professor of Business Law and Ethics at PVAMU, called Bell “our true hero at the College of Business relative to encouraging and getting student scholarship published.”
Bell’s Executive Managerial Communication class is the publishing process in miniature. To be sure, many of his students who often have returned to school from time spent in the business world and who Bell called “savvy and very experienced,” nonetheless, need a refresher in everything from Aristotelian argumentation down to basic sentence structure. “Many students don’t come prepared with the principles of written communication,” Bell said. “Both the written and oral forms of communication are emphasized in my class, and the whole thing is about persuasion. To present their paper, I normally put them in groups because it’s much easier and more efficient, and this heightens the ability of the paper to become publishable since they have to argue among themselves before it gets to me.”
And when papers get to him?
“In each two-week module of the eight-week course, I give them a critical review as if I were doing so for one of the top journals,” said Bell, who is a reviewer for the Journal of Business and Technical Communication and International Journal of Business Communication, and on the review board for the Business and Professional Communication Quarterly.
“I give our EMBA students a very similar kind of review that I would give to papers submitted for publication. I tell students that if they’re sensitive to criticism — it’s probably not the best course for them. But they tend to be very tough-skinned.”
Students select the topics, which are reviewed for clarity, unity and emphasis. Bell helps narrow their topic and coaches them using the American Psychological Association style manual.
“My interpretation of the Executive MBA is that it’s sort of like a quasi-credential between an MBA and a doctorate,” he said. “They have to be able to digest research, and they should be able to produce it.” Some former students, he said, might tell of the program through gritted teeth — but on the other hand, being a published author can mean a significant jump in salary when they return to the business world. “They’re not complaining.”
By Andrew Cohen
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