Damion Waymer

2023 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD RECIPIENT

MA 2003, Communication
Ph. D 2006, Communication

Director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of South Carolina

Damion Waymer is a scholar and administrator who is committed to access, advancement, and faculty development. A native of Orangeburg, South Carolina, he currently serves as the Director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina. Prior to this appointment, he held various administrative roles, including the Senior Associate Dean of the College of Communication & Information Sciences, as well as the Department Chair of Advertising & Public Relations at The University of Alabama. In his role as Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, Development & Diversity at the University of Cincinnati, he led aggressive faculty recruitment and retention initiatives, spearheaded new faculty development opportunities, and created annual university-level awards.

Waymer is a seasoned communication researcher and practitioner who has conducted, for nearly two decades, high-quality, internationally respected research in the contexts of public relations, crisis communication, corporate social responsibility (CSR), branding, and strategic communication. Waymer has held faculty appointments at leading research institutions such as Virginia Tech, the University of Cincinnati, and Texas A&M University. He and his wife, Tiffany, and their son, Thaddeus, currently reside in Columbia, South Carolina.