Dr. William (Bill) C. Trapani joined Florida Atlantic University in 2009 and is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Communication in the College of Arts and Letters. He is honored to have been elected as the Faculty Senate President and by the appointments to the Board of Trustees and the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates. In his academic field of communication and rhetorical studies, he is known for drawing upon a wide array of intellectual heritages to better understand discourse concerning national identity and the political agency afforded various subjects. Bill is an ardent advocate for the vital importance of “the university” in our public culture. This appreciation was first kindled as a student at Baylor University, where he earned a B.A. in Philosophy and an M.A. in communication studies. It grew further at the University of Iowa, where he earned his Ph.D. in rhetorical studies. He believes strongly in the unique and transformative roles universities play in the lives of their students, their communities and society as a whole. In recognition of these commitments, Bill was named as the inaugural director of the “Agora Project” in 2013, a university-level initiative that aimed to restore respect for civil dialogue, civility and traditional academic values at FAU and on campuses throughout the nation. Bill met his wife, Laura Winn-Trapani – also a faculty member at FAU – at Wayne State University in Detroit. They are incredibly proud of their daughter, Elia, who will soon be graduating high school and off on adventures of her own.
