Pam Shockley-Zalabak, Ph.D.

2024 Distinguished Alumni

B.A. '65/M.A. '72 Speech

Dr. Pam Shockley-Zalabak was raised in Drummond, Oklahoma, and attended Oklahoma State University for both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in speech. She then earned her Ph.D. in organizational communication from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Pam is currently president of CommuniCon, Inc., an organizational and leadership development corporation with clients that include Hewlett-Packard, Bristol-Myers Squibb, the American Association of Retired Persons, IRI (Rome, Italy) and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum.

Retired chancellor and professor emerita of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Pam is the founding member of the UCCS Communication Department. She continued to teach even after becoming chancellor, during which time she was responsible for guiding a 75% increase in student growth, supporting new academic programs in all colleges, and aiding a $500 million campus facilities expansion.

Pam is the author of nine books and over 100 publications and video productions. She is the executive producer of the international award-winning resiliency curriculum program for grades 4-12 titled “Becoming Your Personal Best: Life Lessons from Olympians and Paralympians.”

Among her honors, Pam received the Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished Faculty, the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce ATHENA Women in Business Award, the Student Choice for Instructor of the Year, the Pikes Peak Range Riders Silver Spur Award and the American Red Cross Humanitarian of the Year Award.

Along with working with numerous non-profits in Colorado, Pam has served as a Boettcher Foundation trustee, chair of the Pikes Peak Real Estate Foundation Board and chair of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic.