Valerie Schrader, Ph.D.

Valerie Schrader
Professor, Communication Arts and Sciences
[email protected]
570-385-6072
211, Administration Building

Dr. Valerie Schrader is a professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and the current Coordinator of the Penn State Schuylkill Honors Program. She also coordinates the Communication Arts & Sciences and Communication Arts & Mass Media minors at Penn State Schuylkill and co-advises the campus' Lambda Pi Eta chapter with Professor Janelle Gruber. As a rhetorical critic, the majority of Dr. Schrader' research focuses on rhetorical messages in musical theatre texts and how those messages are communicated to audiences. Among the musicals she has published on are:

  • 9 to 5
  • Assassins
  • Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
  • Fun Home
  • Hadestown
  • Hamilton
  • Kinky Boots
  • Memphis
  • Ragtime
  • Rent
  • Six
  • Wicked

Her secondary area of research focuses on public memory. In 2021, Schrader published a book titled Public Memory and the Television Series Outlander, in which she explores how the popular television series creates public memory of the 18th-century Scottish clan system, the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, and colonial America. She has published work analyzing how museum exhibits create public memory and is currently working on a book project about how her grandmother Ruth Plunkett's popular column in the Weirton Daily Times newspaper in the 1970s and 80s created public memory of events in the Weirton area during this time.

Dr. Schrader's research has been recognized with the National Communication Association's Theatre, Film, and New Multi-Media Division's Mid-Career Scholar Award, the National States Advisory Council's Scholar of the Year Award, the Pennsylvania Communication Association's Donald H. Ecroyd Research and Scholarship Award, eight top paper awards from the National Communication Association, and six top papers from the Eastern Communication Association. She has previously served as a member of the Schreyer Honors College Distinguished Honors Faculty Program (2021-2023), as University College Arts & Humanities Discipline Coordinator (2022-2023), and as the Interim Director of Academic Affairs (2017-2018). 

Dr. Schrader strongly supports undergraduate research. Since 2013, 58 of her students have presented 165 individual rhetorical criticism and autoethnographic research projects at the National Communication Association (NCA), the Pennsylvania Communication Association (PCA), and the James C. McCroskey and Virginia P. Richmond Undergraduate Scholars Conference at the Eastern Communication Association (ECA). In 2017, the work presented by eight of her students resulted in Penn State Schuylkill being tied for Top School at the ECA Undergraduate Scholars Conference. 17 of her students have had 25 top papers or posters at the ECA's Undergraduate Scholars Conference, the Ohio Communication Association Conference, the Pennsylvania Communication Association Conference, and the National Communication Association Conference, and she occasionally publishes with her students.

Dr. Schrader is an active member of the Pennsylvania Communication Association (PCA) and the Eastern Communication Association (ECA). She has served in a number of leadership positions at ECA and NCA, and is currently the Immediate Past President of PCA. She was named a Distinguished Teaching Fellow at the Eastern Communication Association in 2022, and in 2024, she received the Harvey Kelly Excellence in Teaching Award from the Pennsylvania Communication Association.

Awards and Grants

Awards

  • Award for Excellence in Faculty Service, Penn State Schuylkill (2025)
  • Award for Excellence in Faculty Research and Creative Accomplishments, Penn State Schuylkill (2024)
  • Harvey Kelly Excellence in Teaching Award, Pennsylvania Communication Association (2024)
  • Top Four Paper Award, Eastern Communication Association, Media Communication Interest Group (2024)
  • Top Three Paper Award, National Communication Association, Theatre, Film & New Multi-Media Division (2023)
  • Top Three Paper Award, Eastern Communication Association, Rhetoric & Public Address Interest Group (2023)
  • Donald H. Ecroyd Research and Scholarship Award, Pennsylvania Communication Association (2022)
  • Distinguished Teaching Fellow, Eastern Communication Association (2022)
  • Award for Excellence in Faculty Advising, Penn State Schuylkill (2021)
  • Top Paper Award, National Communication Association, Theatre, Film & New Multi-Media Division (2021)
  • Top Two Paper Award, National Communication Association, Theatre, Film & New Multi-Media Division (2020)
  • Award for Excellence in Service, Penn State Schuylkill (2019)
  • Top Three Paper Award, National Communication Association, Theatre, Film & New Multi-Media Division (2019)
  • Mid-Career Award, National Communication Association, Theatre, Film & New Multi-Media Division (2018)
  • Top Paper Award, National Communication Association, Theatre, Film & New Multi-Media Division (2018)
  • Top School Award (Penn State Schuylkill), Eastern Communication Association, James C. McCroskey and Virginia P. Richmond Undergraduate Scholars Conference (2017)
  • Top Paper Award, National Communication Association, Theatre, Film & New Multi-Media Division (2016)
  • Award for Excellence in Research and Creative Accomplishments, Penn State Schuylkill (2014)
  • Top Four Paper Award, Eastern Communication Association, Kenneth Burke Interest Group (2014)
  • Scholar of the Year Award, National States Advisory Council (2012)
  • Top Paper Award, Eastern Communication Association, Rhetoric and Public Address Interest Group (2012)
  • Top Three Paper Award, Eastern Communication Association, Interpretation & Performances Studies Interest Group (2012)
  • Phenomenal Women of Penn State Schuylkill Award, Penn State Schuylkill (2011)
  • Best Student Paper Award, National Communication Association, Theatre Division (2009)
  • Karen & Roger Deardoff Graduate Award, Ohio University, School of Communication Studies (2009)
  • Top Four Paper, National Communication Association, Public Address Division (2009)
  • Top Paper Award, Eastern Communication Association, Political Communication Interest Group (2009)
  • Paul H. Boase Family Rhetorical Scholarship Award, Ohio University, School of Communication Studies (2008)
  • Top Poster Award, Ohio Communication Association (2008)

Grants

  • Micro-grant from Penn State University’s Office for General Education. ($462, Awarded August 2023)
  • Grant for the Penn State Schuylkill Honors Program from Barnes and Noble and the Penn State Bookstore. ($8,000, August 2020)              
  • Micro-grant from Penn State University’s Office for General Education. ($476, Awarded January 2020, to be used Spring 2021)
  • Commonwealth Campus Group Travel Grant from Penn State University’s Office of Global Programs ($4,000, November 2019)  
  • Micro-grant from Penn State University’s Office for General Education. ($420, January 2019)
  • Grant for the Penn State Schuylkill Honors Program from Barnes and Noble and the Penn State Bookstore. ($25,000, August 2018)

Dr. Schrader's research interests include:

  • Rhetorical messages in musical theatre and other popular culture texts and how those messages are communicated to audiences
  • Public memory
  • Rhetorical criticism
  • Burkean theory
  • Political rhetoric
  • Autoethnography

Bohner, T. (Undergraduate Student) & Schrader, V. L. (2025). “See Me” through Autoethnography: Invitational Rhetoric and the Importance of Reading Books Together. Pennsylvania Communication Annual, 81(1), 54-67.

Schrader, V. L. (2025). Rhetorical Criticism as a Research Method for Analyzing Musical Theatre Texts. In Adrienne Hacker-Daniels (Ed.), Casting the Art of Rhetoric with Theatre and Drama: Taking Centre Stage. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Neu, J., & Schrader, V. L. (2025). Understanding Christopher: How The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Develops Awareness of the Neurodivergent Community. In Adrienne Hacker-Daniels (Ed.), Casting the Art of Rhetoric with Theatre and Drama: Taking Centre Stage. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Gruber, J. L. H., & Schrader, V. L. (2024). “You Are More Than Just Your Gift:” Facework and Idealization in Disney’s Encanto. Communication and Theatre Association of Minnesota Journal, 47, 32-58.

Hughes, D. H. (Undergraduate Student) & Schrader, V. L. (2023). Hidden Figures to Role Model Figures: Liberal Second Wave Feminism, Intersectional Oppression, and Public Memory in the Film Hidden Figures. Carolinas Communication Annual, 39, 31-42.

Schrader, V. L. (2023). Public Memory, Affect, and the Battle of Culloden: The Creation of Shared Emotional Memory through Two Exhibits at the Culloden Visitor Centre. Rhetoric Review, 42(4), 272-285.

Bates, S. N. (Undergraduate Student) & Schrader, V. L. (2023). #Real&Unfiltered: The Use of Facework in Photographs Taken Before Suicide Attempts. Northwest Journal of Communication, 50(1), 111-136.

Bates, S. N. (Undergraduate Student) & Schrader, V. L. (2023). “Talk to Your Doctor:” A Rhetorical Analysis of Burkean Identification in Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertisements. Communication & Theatre Association of Minnesota Journal, 46, 70-99.

Schrader, V.L. (Accepted). Public Memory, Affect, and the Battle of Culloden: The Creation of Shared Emotional Memory through Two Exhibits at the Culloden Visitor Centre. Rhetoric Review.

Schrader, V.L. (2023). "To Restore the Soul of America:" Religious Rhetoric in Joe Biden's 202 President-Elect Victory Speech. Ohio Communication Journal, 61, 1-14.

Schrader, V. L. (In press). "Why We Build the Wall:" Hegemony, Memory, and Current Events in Hadestown. Studies in Musical Theatre.

Bates, S. N. (Undergraduate Student) & Schrader, V. L. (In press). Sharing “The Music of My Soul:” A Rhetorical Analysis of Invitational Rhetoric in the Musical Memphis. Kentucky Journal of Communication.  

Ward, C. (Undergraduate Student) & Schrader, V. L. (2021). To Express Oneself or to “Talk Less, Smile More?:” Rawlins’ Relational Dialectic of Expressiveness and Protectiveness in the Musical Hamilton. Carolinas Communication Annual, 37, 40-51.

Moyer, A. C. & Schrader, V. L. (2021). “The Most Beautiful Thing in the World:” A Rhetorical Analysis of Relational Dialectics and Friendship in the Musical Kinky Boots. Communication and Theatre Association of Minnesota Journal, 44, 69-89.

Schrader, V. L. (2021). Public Memory and the Television Series Outlander. Lexington Books. 

Schrader, V.L. (2020). Examining the “Histo-remix:” Public Memory, Burkean Identification, and Feminism in the Musical Six. Studies in Musical Theatre, 14 (3), 273-292. 

Schrader, V. L. (2019). “Who Tells Your Story?”: Narrative Theory, Public Memory, and the Hamilton Phenomenon. New Theatre Quarterly, 35, 3, 261-274.  

Schuller, J. & Schrader, V.L. (2018). Broadcasting the Backstage: Essena O’Neill’s Facework as an Instagram Model. Ohio Communication Journal, 56, 79-92.  

Schrader, V. L. (2018). “I Know You:” Burkean Identification and Fun Home’s “Ring of Keys.” Relevant Rhetoric, 9, 1-30.

Schrader, V. L. (2017). “Another National Anthem:” Public Memory, Burkean Identification, and the Musical Assassins. New Theatre Quarterly, 32, 78-96.  

Bachert, J. & Schrader, V. L. (2017). “Journey On:” A Rhetorical Analysis of Relational Dialectics in the Musical Ragtime. Pennsylvania Communication Annual, 73, 68-90.  

Schuller, J. E. & Schrader, V. L. (2017). “Beautiful As You Feel:” Feminism and Post-feminism in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Studies in Musical Theatre, 11, 51-64. 

Schrader, V. L. (2016). Analyzing a Performative Text through Cluster Criticism: Hegemony in the Musical Wicked as a Case Study. KB Journal, 11, 2. http://kbjournal.org/schrader  

Schrader, V. L. (2016). Defining the Soubrette: A Thematic Analysis of the Soubrette Archetype in Classic and Contemporary Musical Theatre. New Theatre Quarterly, 32, 78-96.  

Schrader, V. L. (2015). Encouraging the “Little Guy” to “Shine Like the Sun:” 9 to 5 and Women’s Humor Stereotypes. Studies in Musical Theatre, 9, 215-230.  

Schrader, V. L. (2015). “Infinite Thousands”: The National Museum of the American Indian’s “Invasion Wall” and the Burkean Pentad. Relevant Rhetoric, 6, 1-14. 

Schrader, V. L. (2014). Face-work, Social Movement Leadership, and “Glinda the Good:” A Textual Analysis of the Character G(a)linda in the Musical Wicked. Studies in Musical Theatre, 8(1), 43-55. 

Schrader, V. L. (2013). Friends “For Good:” Wicked: A New Musical and the Idealization of Friendship. Communication and Theatre Association of Minnesota Journal, 40, 7-19. 

Schrader, V. L. (2012). Rose Blossom Speaks: Reflections of a Heroine in the 1890s Western Melodrama Deadwood Dick. Cultural Studies <=> Critical Methodologies, 12, 505-507. 

Schrader, V. L., Joseph, L., & Wade, B. A. (2012). A Question of “Rights” vs. “What is Right:” A Textual Analysis of the Anti-Defamation League’s and President Barack Obama’s Statements Regarding the Proposed Islamic Center near Ground Zero. Ohio Communication Journal, 50, 49-71. 

Schrader, V. L. (2012). Connecting to and Persuading Audiences through Musical Theatre: Burkean Identification in Pins and Needles. Pennsylvania Communication Annual, 68, 70-83. 

Schrader, V. L. (2011). Teaching math and confidence through Burkean identification: A rhetorical analysis of Danica McKellar’s Math Doesn’t Suck. Iowa Journal of Communication, 43(2), 210-223. 

Schrader, V. L., & Muhammad, A. (2011). Illustrating Tensions Using Stretchy String: Teaching Relational Dialectics in the Interpersonal Communication Class. Communication and Theatre Association of Minnesota Journal, 38, 73-77. 

Schrader, V. L. (2011). "Good Morning, Baltimore:” Whiteness, Blackness and Othering in the 2007 Movie Musical Hairspray. Ohio Communication Journal, 49, 127-143. 

Schrader, V. L. (2011). “They call me wonderful, so I am wonderful:” Social Constructionism in the Song “Wonderful” in the Musical Wicked. Pennsylvania Communication Annual, 67, 61-72. 

Schrader, V. L. (2011). Consoling Through Faith: A Rhetorical Analysis of Religious References in Bill Clinton’s Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial Prayer Service Address. Kentucky Journal of Communication, 30(1), 13-27. 

Schrader, V. L. (2011). Wicked Witch or Reformer?: Character Transformations Through the Use of Humor in the Musical Wicked. Studies in American Humor, 23, 49-65. 

Schrader, V. L. (2009). Teachable Moments in Presidential Eulogies: A Comparative Analysis of Ronald Reagan’s Address to the Nation on the Challenger Disaster and William Jefferson Clinton’s Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial Prayer Service Address. Ohio Communication Journal, 47, 215-223. 

Schrader, V. L. (2009). “No Day But Today:” Life Perspectives of HIV- positive Individuals in the Musical Rent. Communication and Theatre Association of Minnesota Journal, 36, 23-36.  

Schrader, V. L. (2008). Union Kids: Using Burkean Identification to Attract Children to the Labor Movement through the AFL-CIO Website. Pennsylvania Communication Annual, 64, 76-89. 

Ph.D., Communication Studies - Ohio University, Athens, OH (2010); Major area of emphasis: Rhetoric and public culture; Supporting areas of emphasis: instructional communication and performance; Graduate certificate in Women's and Gender Studies

M.A., Communication Studies - Ohio University, Athens, OH (2007)

B.A., Communication Arts and Sciences - Penn State University, University Park, PA (2005); Minors: Linguistics, Spanish; Schreyer Honors Scholar