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Matthew W. Childress is an adjunct faculty member teaching Speech Communication and Interpersonal Communication for Ivy Tech and Jefferson Community & Technical College. He received his B.A. in Communication from the University of Louisville (Louisville, KY) and a Master of Arts Degree in Communication (MAC) from Bellarmine University (Louisville, KY).

On April 6, 2019, Mr. Childress was a presenter at the 2019 Adjunct Faculty Scholars Conference, hosted by Indiana University Southeast.  The title of his presentation, The Spiral of Silence & Reflective Journaling: A Possible Solution to Student In-Class Participation, addressed the issue of students not participating in class discussions.  Research suggests that students fear isolation from peers and teachers and that students have a quasi-statistical sense that they should not speak (Noelle-Neumann, 1974).  Inspired by Hyland-Russell (2014), Mr. Childress suggests that teachers may want to require reflective as a way to evaluate student participation.  

As an undergraduate student, Mr. Childress participated in the International Service Learning Program as a member of the Health Communication team. He and his colleagues interviewed residents of Gales Point, Belize about their health beliefs and habits as part of a free health clinic provided by the Medical and Dental Schools at the University of Louisville. Mr. Childress was also published inThe Mentor: An Academic Advising Journal.

As a graduate student, Matthew's focus was Communication Theory and Media Studies. He served as News Director for Bellarmine Radio and hosted BU Breakdown, a news and current affairs show. In October 2011, Mr. Childress interviewed actor Kal Penn about his work as Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement in the Obama Administration.