Tonya Oaks Smith, Director of Communications, UALR Bowen School of Law
Tonya Oaks Smith serves as Director of Communications for the UALR Bowen School of Law. In this role, she manages the communications, marketing, and public relations strategies of the law school in accordance with its mission, objectives, directives, and policies. Smith is particularly interested in developing Bowen’s communication and marketing strategies through the use of new media.
Smith is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in English and is completing her thesis in applied communication studies at UALR’s Department of Speech Communication. Her research examines Twitter use in relation to the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic – seen through the theoretical lens of diffusion of innovation.
Smith brings 12 years of experience as a journalist to the position of communications director. Before joining UALR as a public relations coordinator in 2006, she worked for Little Rock-based Acxiom Corporation as an internal communications specialist. She began her career moving through the newsroom ranks as reporter, news editor, and managing editor for weekly and daily newspapers in Louisiana.