Faculty Spotlight Dr. Maddie Holland

Associate Professor of Instruction and Program Manager for Interdisciplinary Education Initiatives

Dr. Maddie Holland is the powerhouse behind UT’s Engineering Communication program, a unique collaboration between the Moody College of Communication and the Cockrell School of Engineering. She also teaches an upper-level elective on personal relationships and social identities and a graduate seminar on teaching. But before she was shaping young minds at UT, she was a student herself—one who, luckily, found her calling early.

Finding Her Path: A Love for Communication

“For a lot of people, knowing what you want to do takes a while, but I found my path early,” she shares. It all started with a class called Interpersonal Communication in her first year of college. "I just found it to be so fascinating." That fascination turned into office hours with her professor, research opportunities, and even TA work, setting her on a course toward graduate school and, eventually, a career where she gets to do what she loves every day: learning, teaching, and mentoring students.

Memorable Moments

Dr. Holland's academic journey wasn’t all smooth sailing, especially when it came to astronomy.

“I signed up thinking it would be something like, ‘let’s look at all of these constellations and talk about why planets are cool!’ I was…very wrong.” Turns out, she had accidentally enrolled in astrophysics—and by the time she realized it, it was too late to drop. Cue hours of desperate studying with friends, which eventually led to her collapsing in laughter under a study lounge table, while a friend attempted to teach equations via a doodled diagram. “I don’t remember whether I ever got that equation figured out or not,” she admits, “but I was so glad to have such good friends and to have found such joy in failing so hard.”

Graduate school brought its own brand of chaos. One time, while co-teaching a class with Dr. Carroll (another UT faculty member and grad school friend), they filled a seminar room with balloons to help students visualize communication theory. “It cracked me up,” she says, proving that sometimes, the best lessons are the most unexpected ones.

Proud Moments & A Passion for Teaching

Of all the things she’s accomplished, the moment that sticks with her most is something simple, yet powerful:

“A student once told me, ‘You’re a really great explainer.’”

That compliment means everything to her because making communication knowledge accessible and meaningful is at the heart of what she does. “Sometimes that knowledge is really hard to access. Being able to ‘translate’ it so that people can use it is a skill I’m really proud to have grown.”

More Fun Facts & Favorites

• 📍 Hometown: Boston, MA
• 🍞 Fun Fact: She makes her own bread!
• 🎬 Guilty Pleasure Movie Genre: Bad action movies—Fast & Furious forever!
• 🏋️ Favorite Place in Austin: Her gym—“a really supportive, positive, fun place filled with lots of really cool people.”
• ✈️ Dream Destination: Japan! She’s never been to East Asia and would love to explore it.

Words of Wisdom

If she could give advice to current students, she’d keep it simple:

“Read! Read widely. Novels, non-fiction, graphic novels, newspapers, whatever. Just read.” Not only does it expand your mind, but “it also just makes you more interesting to talk to.” (Oh, and read—and respond to—your emails. Please.)

To her younger self, she’d say:

“Everything is a season.” The hard times? They won’t last forever. The amazing times? Savor them while they last. “The season is still beautiful, and I should enjoy it.”

And that’s Dr. Maddie Holland—a passionate educator, an enthusiastic communicator, a lover of bread, and someone who finds joy in both learning and laughing!