Department of Public Relations

Kevin Trowbridge (Chair), Trenay Perry Bynum, Christie Kleinmann, and Bonnie Riechert

Purpose

The Department of Public Relations equips emerging professionals today to become tomorrow’s strategic communication leaders. They are prepared to engage and transform the world through purposeful and principled communication on behalf of all types of organizations, brands and causes.

The department offers majors and minors in public relations and social media management. Rooted in the social sciences, both programs emphasize how intentional communication connects people around a shared purpose and can be used to influence awareness, attitudes and actions.

Program Goals

By studying public relations or social media management, students will:

Realize the complexities and significance of organization-public relationships.
Discover how strategic communication is practiced in myriad organizations, e.g., agencies, corporations, nonprofits, government, entertainment, sport, etc., with different publics.
Understand how strategic communication supports an organization’s mission, vision, values, and operations.
Use research, data, and insights to plan, implement and evaluate purposeful communication strategies.
Develop their skills to create and deliver purposeful content using text, graphics, photos, audio, and video through owned, earned, paid, and shared communication channels.
Be prepared to practice socially responsible, ethical, and legal strategic communication, recognizing how communication can transform individuals, organizations, communities, and broader society.