Dr. Suzanne Lindsey retired in the spring of 2021. She was named Professor Emerita at the May 7, 2022 Commencement Ceremony for her many years of dedicated service to Belmont University.

In addition to her administrative service as chair of the Communication Studies Department for many years, Dr. Lindsey was active in the Belmont community. She served as one of three original co-founders of the Women’s History Month celebration in the mid 90s and participated in or moderated several panels in that role.  She was also involved with Belmont’s Undergraduate Research Symposium. She served as a committee member for many years and was chair of the committee and Institutional Coordinator for the National Collegiate Undergraduate Research Symposium for one year.  In the community, she participated in Cares Team, an interdenominational effort to organize Nashville churches to assist clients living with HIV/AIDS. She was also a leader and spokesperson for a grass roots effort to keep the Nashville Zoo in its current location and served as a volunteer docent at the zoo for many years.

Much of Dr. Lindsey’s scholarship was inspired by her doctoral dissertation focused on the rhetorical strategies of the Irish National Land League and her thesis on extremism in the rhetoric of the Christian right. She presented a number of papers at state and national conferences related to rhetoric in social contexts including women’s movements, religion, and the Northern Ireland conflict. Her rhetorical comparison of the apologia employed by Aimee Semple McPherson and Jim Bakker was published in Studies of Popular Culture.  For much of her time at Belmont, Dr. Lindsey was active with the Tennessee Women’s Studies Association. On campus, she was a frequent panelist and guest lecturer on topics related to rhetoric for both faculty and students.

Mostly, Dr. Lindsey was known as a dedicated teacher, infamous for her rigor and depth. Year after year, in exit interviews, graduating seniors cited her courses as their most influential and life-changing. Here are a few tributes written by alumni of the program:

“You are the best kind of teacher. You expect greatness from your students and inspire them to work toward that goal.” | Meg Tully, 2008 graduate

“Perhaps the most impactful skill Dr. Lindsey cultivated was the ability to take direct feedback and adjust. I’ll never forget that first speech class where everyone gave helpful critiques immediately after each speech. It taught me to welcome constructive feedback rather than run from it. In my career, I cannot emphasize how many times I’ve presented to senior executives and faced immediate, direct critiques. My experiences in Dr. Lindsey’s classes prepared me to thrive in those situations and use them to improve. I am very grateful for the impact she’s made on me and Belmont as a whole.” | Felicia Williams, 2015 Graduate

“Her class was hard, and it challenged me in ways I had never been challenged before.  But more than anything, her class was ironic. Though we studied rhetoricians with powerful ethos, there was no one with ethos quite as powerful as Dr. Lindsey. She was a wonderful teacher, gifted orator, inspiring storyteller, and thought-provoking intellectual. I am grateful to have had even 16 weeks in her presence to be a sponge for all she had to offer.” | Madi Shultz Tummins, 2018 graduate

“I can remember when you had us read the Neo-Aristotelian Analysis of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural. I can remember that you shared with us your educational relation to the article’s author, and how there was a heritage of rhetorical scholars that descended from her, all the way to all of us in that classroom. You always said that we stand on the shoulders of giants. As we celebrate your retirement, we honor you as one of them.” | JT Faircloth, 2015 graduate,

The faculty, students, and alum of the Communication Studies department celebrate Dr. Suzanne Lindsey’s legacy and are grateful for her years of service to the department and university!