GAINESVILLE, Fla., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The first class of Institute
for Public Relations Research Fellows will be inducted at the Annual
Distinguished Lecture & Awards Dinner, November 5, 2008 at the New York
City Yale Club. The Institute Board has established this body to provide
overall leadership for the organization's research program.
"The Fellows will catalyze new research and provide expert guidance as
we continue to build and share the science beneath the art of public
relations," said Frank Ovaitt, Institute president and CEO. "There are so
many assumptions regarding the practice of public relations that still need
rigorous testing and support to establish a true profession."
Inducted at the dinner will be Kathryn Collins (General Motors), James
E. Grunig, Ph.D. (University of Maryland), David Michaelson, Ph.D. (Echo
Research), Don W. Stacks, Ph.D. (University of Miami), Louis C. Williams
(L.C. Williams & Associates), and Donald K. Wright, Ph.D. (Boston
University). The criteria for selection include international research
reputations in either academia or the practice, and a commitment to work
with the Institute to identify and address broad research needs in the
public relations field.
Ovaitt pointed to an ongoing series of research projects conducted
under the Institute's auspices to examine long-held claims that public
relations and advertising produce different effects. "This is indicative of
the ground-breaking topics that we hope the Institute Research Fellows will
tackle. Their roles will include defining, encouraging, and sometimes
carrying out this kind of research themselves," he said.
Tickets and tables for the event can be purchased by visiting the
Institute's website, http://www.instituteforpr.org , or calling Jenn Moyer
at +1 352 392 0280.
Institute for Public Relations Research Fellows Biographies
Practitioners
Kathryn Collins, General Motors' Director of Communications Research,
majored in industrial psychology (Oakland University) and has an
international reputation for corporate communication measurement and
research. She has spoken at numerous events on communication research, with
a specialty in measurement and evaluation of internal/employee
communications. Collins' expertise is in global research, reputation
measurement, and client-focused media satisfaction. A founding member of
the Commission on Public Relations Measurement & Evaluation, she has
authored or co-authored several practitioner-oriented publications. Her
expertise in advanced statistical modeling in the evaluation and prediction
of employee communications is well-known within the corporate
communications area.
Dr. David Michaelson, President, Echo Research, received his doctorate
in anthropology (Ph.D., New School for Social Research) and has an
international reputation in public relations and corporate communications
measurement and research. He has published in the academic and professional
worlds on communication-related topics such as investor relations, efficacy
of public relations vis-a-vis advertising, and content analysis
methodology. Dr. Michaelson has been managing director for several global
public relations firms. At Burson-Marsteller, he won two Silver Anvils. He
received a Golden Ruler Award Certificate of Merit from the Institute for
Public Relations. As President of Echo Research, he was the first
practitioner since Walt Lindenmann to win the Jackson Jackson & Wagner
Behavioral Science Prize.
Louis C. Williams is chairman of L.C. Williams & Associates, one of the
oldest public relations research firms. Before this he was Hill &
Knowlton's national resource in research. He is one of the best known
public relations research practitioners, having written several IABC books
on conducting research as well as speaking at numerous professional
meetings on research and counseling. He is past chairman of the
International Association of Business Communicators and an elected IABC
Fellow, an honorary trustee of the Institute for Public Relations, and a
member of the Commission on Public Relations Measurement & Evaluation.
Academics
Dr. James E. Grunig, emeritus professor of communication, University of
Maryland, earned his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin. He has an
international reputation in public relations research and theory. A
prolific writer and researcher, he has been at the forefront of much of
contemporary public relations research, including the ground-breaking
Excellence series of books. A member of the Commission on Public Relations
Measurement & Evaluation, Dr. Grunig is the winner of the Institute for
Public Relations' Pathfinder Award, the Jackson Jackson & Wagner Behavioral
Science Prize, the Deutschmann Award for Research from the Association for
Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, and the 2008 Arthur W. Page
Society Distinguished Service Award.
Dr. Don W. Stacks, professor in the University of Miami School of
Communication, has an international reputation in public relations research
and theory. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Florida. He is the
author of over 150 articles, chapters and professional papers, as well as
seven books, to include writing the Primer of Public Relations Research and
editing the Dictionary of Public Relations Research and Measurement. He is
a trustee of the Institute for Public Relations and a member of the
Commission on Public Relations Measurement & Evaluation. Dr. Stacks is the
winner of the Institute's Pathfinder Award, the Jackson Jackson & Wagner
Behavioral Science Prize, the PRSA Educator of the Year, and has been
elected a Research Fellow of the Eastern Communication Association. He is
currently the senior advisor on the Colombian (SA) CSR Project, and
conducting research in several different areas.
Dr. Donald K. Wright, professor of public relations at Boston
University, earned his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota and has an
international reputation in public relations research and theory. He is the
author of numerous articles, book chapters, and professional papers. He is
the founding editor of Public Relations Journal and past chair of the
Commission on Public Relations Measurement & Evaluation. He is the former
President of the International Public Relations Association. Dr. Wright is
a trustee of the Institute for Public Relations and winner of its
Pathfinder Award, the Jackson Jackson & Wagner Behavioral Science Prize,
the Arthur W. Page Society's Distinguished Service Award, and the PRSA
Educator of the Year. He directs these annual meetings for the Institute:
the Executive Forum, the Leadership Forum and the Summit on Measurement.
SOURCE Institute for Public Relations
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Related links:
http://www.instituteforpr.org
CONTACT:
Frank Ovaitt, +1-703-568-5611,
iprceo@jou.ufl.edu, or Michelle Hinson, +1-352-392-0280,
mhinson@jou.ufl.edu, both of the Institute for Public Relations
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