Lisa Gring-Pemble

University Affiliate

Associate Professor

Social impact, innovation, and entrepreneurship; Rhetorical criticism, argument, persuasion; Political communication and public policy

Lisa M. Gring-Pemble is an associate professor in the School of Business at George Mason University. Since joining George Mason University in 2000, she has pursued teaching and research around three main areas: 1) social impact and innovation, 2) argumentation and persuasion, and 3) political communication and public policy.

She is author of Grim Fairy Tales: The Rhetorical Construction of American Welfare Policy and a co-editor of Readings on Political Communication. Her work has appeared in The Quarterly Journal of Speech, Political Communication, Rhetoric & Public Affairs, and Communication Quarterly.

Gring-Pemble delights in teaching undergraduates and is a 2005 George Mason University Teaching Excellence Award recipient. Recently, she served as director and principal investigator for a State Department grant that brought 120 high-achieving, underserved, Afro-Latino and indigenous undergraduates from Central and South America to the United States to study U.S. History and Government and to develop long-term solutions to pressing challenges faced in their home communities.

As the Director of Social Innovation and Global Impact in the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Gring-Pemble supports university-wide initiatives that engage students of all majors in social entrepreneurship. She also serves as George Mason University’s Ashoka Change Leader and the advisor to the George Mason University Honey Bee Initiative.

Current Research

Martha Solomon Watson and Lisa M. Gring-Pemble. "And Your Sons and Daughters Shall Prophesy," a book length manuscript on women's public speaking and religion.

Lisa Gring-Pemble and Cher Weixia Chen. "A Feminist Rhetorical Analysis of the Lilly Ledbetter Act."

Selected Publications

David Levasseur and Lisa Gring-Pemble. "Not All Capitalist Stories are Created Equal: Mitt Romney's Bain Capital Narrative and the Deep Divide in American Economic Rhetoric," forthcoming in Rhetoric & Public Affairs.

Duhita Mahatmya and Lisa Gring-Pemble (2014). "DREAMers and Their Families: A Family Impact Analysis of the DREAM Act and Implications for Family Well-Being." Journal of Family Studies 20.1: 79-87.

Gring-Pemble, Lisa. “Connecting the Classroom to the World”: An Integrative, Interdisciplinary, and Experiential Approach to Learning at George Mason University.” The College Curriculum: A Reader, edited by Joseph Devitis. New York: Peter Lang 2013.

Gring-Pemble, Lisa. 2012. “It’s We the People . . . , Not We The Illegals”: Extremist Rhetoric in Prince William County, Virginia’s Immigration Debate. Communication Quarterly 60.5: 624-648.

Expanded Publication List

Books
Sheckels, Ted, Janette Kenner Muir, Terry Robertson and Lisa Gring-Pemble. Readings on Political Communication. State College, PA: Strata Publishers, 2007.

Gring-Pemble, Lisa. Grim Fairy Tales: The Rhetorical Construction of American Welfare Policy. Westport, CT: Praeger Press, 2003. Reviewed in the July 2004 issue of CHOICE, an American Library Association publication.

Articles
Gring-Pemble, Lisa and Pamela W. Garner. 2010. Writing Rock Stars: A Case Study in Early Childhood Writing Instruction Standards. Community Literacy Journal. 5.1, p. 57-73.

Gring-Pemble, Lisa. “Rhetoric and Narrativity.” 2008. The International Encyclopedia of Communication, Ed. Wolfgang Donsbach. Oxford: International Communication Association and Blackwell Publishing. This 10-volume reference work includes about 1500 articles representing 29 editorial areas.

Gring-Pemble, Lisa. “Eleanor Roosevelt.” 2008. Encyclopedia of Political Communication. Eds. Lynda Lee Kaid and Christina Holtz-Bacha. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Gring-Pemble, Lisa. “Welfare Policy.” 2008. Encyclopedia of Political Communication. Eds. Lynda Lee Kaid and Christina Holtz-Bacha. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Gring-Pemble, Lisa and Janette Kenner Muir. “Developing Engaged Citizens: Learning for Effective Civic Responsibility.” Inventio 7.1 (Spring 2005), online peer reviewed journal.

Gring-Pemble, Lisa.“Legislating a ‘Normal Classic Family’: The Rhetorical Construction of Families in American Welfare Policy.” 2003. Political Communication 20.4 (October-December 2003): 473-98.

Gring-Pemble, Lisa and Martha Solomon Watson. “The Rhetorical Limits of Satire: An Analysis of James Finn Garner’s Politically Correct Bedtime Stories.” The Quarterly Journal of Speech 89.2 (May 2003): 132-53.

Gring-Pemble, Lisa. “‘Are We Going to Now Govern by Anecdote?’: Rhetorical Constructions of Welfare Recipients in the Congressional Hearings, Debates, and Legislation, 1992–1996.” Quarterly Journal of Speech (November 2001): 341–65. (Lead Article).

Gring-Pemble, Lisa and Diane M. Blair. “Best-Selling Feminisms: The Rhetorical Production of Popular Press Feminists’ Romantic Quest.” Communication Quarterly (Fall 2000): 360–79.

Gring-Pemble, Lisa. “Eleanor Roosevelt’s Addresses.” The Eleanor Roosevelt Encyclopedia. Eds. Maurine H. Beasley, Holly C. Shulman, and Henry R. Beasley. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2001. (with Diane M. Blair and Martha Watson). Winner of the American Librarian Association's BOOKLIST "Editor's Choice Award for 2001" in the reference book category.

Gring-Pemble, Lisa. “Writing Themselves Into Consciousness: Creating A Rhetorical Bridge Between the Public and Private Spheres.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 84 (1998): 41–61.

Courses Taught

NCLC 101: Narratives of Identity

NCLC 202: Public Speaking and Critical Thinking

NCLC 302: Argumentation and Advocacy

NCLC 304: Social Movements and Community Activism

NCLC 310: Violence and Gender

NCLC 361: Neighborhoods, Community, and Identity

NCLC 375: On the Campaign Trail

COMM 300: Foundations of Public Communication

In the Media

Interview with Tim Regan, Northern Virginia Magazine for “Save the Bees, Get Local Honey,” Northern Virginia Magazine, 31 October, 2013.

Featured in Molly Greenberg’s “George Mason Welcomes New Class of Over a Million Bees a Buzzin’ to Campus,” In the Capital, 29 October 2013.

Interviewed by Jamie Coughlin, WMAL for “GMU Class Aims to Revive Local Bee Population,” 17 October, 2013.

Interviewed Michael Pope, WAMU (Local NPR Affiliate) for “GMU Students Try To Understand Mystery Of Disappearing Honeybees,” 20 October, 2013.

Interviewed by Gregg McDonald, Fairfax Times for “University Buzzing about GMU Beekeeping Class,” 11 October 2013 and then published in Washington Post Fairfax Edition, 17 October, 2013.

Interviewed by XM Satellite Radio Correspondent for President of the United States (POTUS) Channel 138, live interview, January 8, 2008.

Interviewed by Dan Nowicki for the Arizona Republic about the presidential campaign, Thursday, January 31, 2008.

Honors, Awards, and Grants

George Mason University Honey Bee Initiative, raised funds to support the launch of an innovative, educational and entrepreneurial multi-disciplinary teaching and research program, housed in New Century College.

Hivestarter (Fall 2013). A key player in the Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign entitled, Hivestarter, which was the first successful George Mason University crowd-funding campaign of its kind in the nation. Raised $12, 252 (or 123% of the $10,000 goal).

Principal Investigator and Program Director, $1.3 million State Department Grant for Study of the United States Institutes for Student Leaders (SUSI) on U.S. History and Government (2011-2012).

Leadership Legacy Program (Cohort #2, Spring 2012). Initiated by President Alan G. Merten, Mason’s Leadership Legacy Program, uses a cohort model, self-assessments, case studies, readings, and leadership coaching to further the leadership development of full-time faculty and staff.

Phi Beta Kappa (Charter Member at George Mason University)

Phi Kappi Phi (Charter Member at George Mason University)