[5][6] The Mark L. Knapp Professorship, Moody College of Communication, University of Texas at Austin, was established in 2017.

Knapp served in the United States Army in Germany from 1957 to 1959, received his bachelor’s (1962) and master’s (1963) degrees from the University of Kansas and his PhD (1966) from Pennsylvania State University.

He received an Outstanding Alumni Award from the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences, Pennsylvania State University in 2018.

Knapp examined a wide variety of topics in his published research, including: conversational narcissism, behaviors enacted in greetings, goodbyes, and conversational turn-taking, memorable messages, regrettable messages, messages people attach to their email signatures, compliments, play behavior, the construct of intent, anti-drug abuse commercials, communication in developing relationships, nonverbal and deceptive behavior in close relationships, communicating commitment in close relationships, couples’ personal idioms, the effects of interaction on appearance, nonverbal communication and aging, communicating with the terminally ill, staff-resident communication in nursing homes, and the measurement of conflict in organizations.

He has lectured to, trained, and/or acted as consultant to over 60 different business organizations, voluntary groups, government agencies, and educational institutions—including IBM, U.S. Peace Corps, Pfizer, and the Texas Attorney General's Office.