University of Alabama Professor to Deliver 4th Grunig Lecture at the PRSA International Conference
Gainesville, FL – May 10, 2011 – Bruce Berger, Ph.D., of the University of Alabama has been chosen to deliver the fourth annual Grunig Lecture. Dr. Berger combines 20 years of professional practice, which often focused on employee communication, with 15 years of university teaching and research. This annual event is popular among public relations professionals and educators and is co-hosted by the Institute for Public Relations (IPR), the University of Maryland and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).
The 2011 Grunig Lecture is scheduled be on Sunday afternoon, October 16, at the PRSA International Conference in Orlando, Florida. The lecture series honors James E. Grunig, Professor Emeritus, and Larissa A. Grunig, Professor Emerita, of the University of Maryland. The Grunigs are preeminent researchers and friends to the global public affairs and public relations community.
Dr. Berger is the Reese Phifer Professor of Advertising & Public Relations in the College of Communication and Information Sciences at the University of Alabama. He also serves as a board member of IPR and The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations in the College. Previously he was chair of the department, and prior to that, director of the MA Program in the department. Dr. Berger teaches public relations writing and management at the undergraduate level, and courses in persuasion, communication campaigns, and international public relations at the graduate level.
Dr. Berger earned his Ph.D. in Communication in 1999 at the University of Kentucky, where he also taught courses in public relations and organizational communications. He has received a number of teaching awards, including: an Excellence in Teaching Award (1997) at Kentucky; an Educator of the Year Award (2006) from the Public Relations Society of America; the Knox Hagood Faculty Award (2006) at UA; and the College’s Board of Visitors Teaching Excellence Award (2008).
Prior to entering academia, Dr. Berger was a public relations professional and executive for 20 years. From 1975-1989 he worked at the Upjohn Company, a pharmaceutical research and manufacturing company. His assignments included serving as manager of Public Affairs, based in Brussels, Belgium, and subsequently as director of Worldwide Human Health Public Relations. He worked on public relations programs in 30 countries.
In 1989 Berger became corporate VP of Corporate Affairs for Whirlpool Corporation, and president of the Whirlpool Foundation. He was responsible for developing and implementing the company’s first global public relations strategic plan.
Berger currently is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society, the Public Relations Society of America, the International Communication Association, the National Communication Association, and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. He also serves as a member of the editorial review boards for the Journal of Public Relations Research, Management Communication Quarterly, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Journal of Communication Studies, and Atlantic Journal of Communication.
About the Institute for Public Relations
IPR is an independent non-profit foundation that answers the need for evidence and accountability in public relations. IPR plays a critical role in bridging the academic world with the profession to ensure that the best thinking and knowledge are applied for the benefit of today’s demanding business world. More information can be found at instituteforpr.org.
About the University of Maryland
Since its founding in 1901, the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland has sustained a commitment to research and teaching in the history, processes, and effects of communications. Within the department, students may do graduate work in communication in programs leading to the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. More information can be found athttp://www.comm.umd.edu/departmentinfo.html
About the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)
With more than 31,000 members, PRSA is the largest organization of public relations professionals and students. PRSA is comprised of 112 local chapters organized into 10 geographic districts; 12 professional interest sections that focus on issues, trends and research relevant to specialized practice areas, such as technology, health care, financial communications, entertainment and sports, and travel tourism; and the Public Relations Student Society of America(PRSSA), which has 319 chapters at colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. PRSA is headquartered in New York.
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For Further Information:
Frank Ovaitt, IPR
+1-352-392-0280
frank@instituteforpr.org
