About Colter

Colter grew up in a suburb of Houston and earned a BA in public relations from Texas State University. This was followed by a soul crushing year in the corporate world before realizing his calling as an educator and researcher. Colter obtained his doctorate in communication from Arizona State University and is now a professor at The University of Tampa.

Colter’s research focuses on helping people overcome times of loneliness as well as the “dark side” of social support — focusing on the reasons why some supportive messages are more hurtful than helpful and why some people choose not to reach out to loved ones in times of need.

Recently, Colter’s research has explored ways to combat the ongoing loneliness epidemic — documenting the ways that people attempt to cope with loneliness, including both what works and what doesn’t work.

In his spare time, Colter and his wife can be found chilling with their two labradoodles or playing board games with friends. Colter enjoys dabbling in all sorts of hobbies, ranging from music to photography and he would probably make an excellent addition to your bar trivia team.