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.
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