Kelsey Abele, Ph.D.

Director of Speech/Forensics
abele@ksu.edu
Campus office: 316 C Nichols Hall

Education

Ph.D., Arizona State University
M.A., Kansas State University
B.A., Gustavus Adolphus College

Dr. Kelsey Abele teaches public speaking and a variety of rhetoric classes as well as directing the nationally acclaimed Speech Team at Kansas State University. Prior to returning to K-State, she coached at Arizona State University and West Texas A&M University, with national finalists in Communication Analysis, Persuasion, Dramatic Interpretation, Prose Interpretation, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Impromptu Speaking. She has served on the American Forensics Association National Speech Tournament Committee as the District 3 Chair.

Dr. Abele’s research interests include the state of Forensics at a collegiate level as well as rhetorics of history, memory, and film. She is particularly interested in how memory of historical films influences the perception of memory and history for an audience. Alternative histories, especially as presented in palatable visual mediums such as television and movies create a new hazy boundary of what it means to recall, and the trustworthiness of personal and collective memory.

Caroll and Barbara Hickey Achievement Award for American Forensics Association District 3, 2024

Texas Intercollegiate Forensics Association (TIFA) Educator of the Year, 2025

Communication Teacher of the Year, 2025 for West Texas A&M University

L.E. Norton Research Award for Pi Kappa Delta, 2024

Selected publications:

Mata, A. & Abele, K. (2025). “I’m in a place where I’m performing whiteness”: Code switching in competitive collegiate forensics. The Forensic of Pi Kappa Delta, 110(1), 1-28.

Carlile, A. & Abele, K. (2024). “Speech isn’t structured for work-life balance”: A study describing equity, fairness, and satisfaction of college forensics professionals. The Forensic of Pi Kappa Delta, 109(1), 6-31.

Manchester Scholar Series Grant 2024, Awarded by the American Forensics Association. Abele, K. & Mata, A. “Code Switching in Collegiate Forensics.”