W. David Snowball

Professor of Communication Studies/ Talbott Harbour Chair

• Phone: 309-794-7581
• Email: Snowball@augustana.edu
• Office: Old Main 213

In 1984, Dr. David Snowball joined the faculty at Augustana and since has served the college in numerous roles. Currently a professor of Communication Studies, and chair of the honors program, he teaches Advertising and Social Influence, Propaganda in the 20th Century and Beyond, and Presenting with Technology. He maintains AugieComm, the department’s Linked-In group which provides an ongoing connection between students and alumni. 

For a quarter of a century, Dr. Snowball competed in academic debate and coached college debate teams, including Augustana's. When he retired from that research-intensive endeavor, his interest turned to researching fund investing and fund communication strategies. 

His online newsletter, the Mutual Fund Observer, is read by about 25,000 people from 35 countries each month and has reached 2.5 million readers over the years. He has been interviewed by, and  his work has been cited in USA Today, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Business Week, BottomLine:Personal and many industry newsletters and, on the web, at Motley Fool, MSN Money, WSJ/MarketWatch and elsewhere.

Dr. Snowball lives across the Mississippi River from Augustana's campus in Davenport, Iowa. Cheryl, his other half, is the chief information officer for Eastern Iowa Community Colleges and his son Will, his other other half, is beginning graduate school in psychology.

Specializations: Mutual funds, Mass persuasion