Dr. Cynthia P. King currently serves as an Associate Dean in the Division of Academic Affairs. In this role she collaborates with faculty, staff, and campus partners to develop resources and trainings to enhance access, opportunity, and academic thriving within the division.

Dr. King is also co-director of the On Discourse Initiative, a campus-wide effort to equip students, faculty, and staff with the skills and dispositions needed to listen, communicate, and engage across differences. In this role, she has shaped the initiative’s curricular and co-curricular programming while actively encouraging campus-wide participation.

Before these roles, Dr. King was a faculty member in the Department of Communication Studies, where she served as chair. Under her leadership, the department became a model for academic departments in implementing The Furman Advantage, revising the curriculum, and collaborating with campus partners to create impactful student programming.
Beyond her administrative responsibilities, Dr. King conducts workshops on and off campus to support Furman’s commitment to leveraging faculty expertise to enhance engagement with the Greenville community and beyond.

Honors and Awards

• Recipient of Alester G. Furman, Jr., and Janie Earle Furman Meritorious Teaching Award, Furman University, 2015
• Phi Beta Kappa Honorary Inductee, Furman University, 2024
• Omicron Delta Kappa, Inductee, Furman University, 2023

Education

• Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park
• M.A., Auburn University
• B.A., Auburn University