We announced this week the first class of Institute for Public Relations Research Fellows. They will be inducted at the Annual Distinguished Lecture & Awards Dinner, November 5 in New York.
With all the research commissions, conferences and councils supported by the Institute, do we also need the Institute Research Fellows? Is it just an honorary thing?
Yes – and definitely NO.
The Board of Trustees has established this body to provide overall leadership for the Institute’s research program. The Fellows’ responsibility will be to the Board. The Fellows roles will include catalyzing new research and providing expert guidance as we continue to build and share the science beneath the art of public relationsÔ.
Inducted on November 5 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.
So… congratulations to the new Institute for Public Relations Research Fellows.
Frank Ovaitt
President and CEO
Institute for Public Relations
Congratulations to all. Now let’s get busy on a comprehensive theory of public relations that describes how it works–not how it SHOULD work–but how it really works. We are no further along that avenue of research than we were fifty years ago, and the time has come.
Bill Huey
Strategic Communications
Atlanta
Congratulations to all five. The best you can do to meet the goals you’ve set is to
underscore the “science” in “science beneath the art.” The profession is open to all kinds of con “artists.” To raise the image of the profession we need more “science.” More science when designing curricula for PR education. More science in demanding professional qualifications before anyone is allowed to practice. And finally lock out any practitioner who doesn’t either qualify under pre-determined “science” benchmarks before entry or is unwilling to qualify as required if the benchmarks come into effect after one is already practicing.
Being named a Fellow has been a humbling experience for me. To be recognized along with the lumininary scholars of the profession for me is not only an honor, but also a responsibility to the Institute and to the profession overall. The success of the Fellows program is dependent on setting an agenda that encourages the use and application of research in public relations. Let me suggest the roles that we as Fellows can play.
The primary role the Fellows should play is creating a foundation for the future of public relations research, measurement and evaluation. That raises the fundamental question “How should we accomplish building that foundation?” There are several areas of responsibility that the Fellows need to assume to achieve this. The first task is to provide critical commentary that identifes and encourages the use of best practices for academic research as well as commercial applications. The other task is to help shape the future of public relations research and where research could be going. A third task that will come with time will be to serve the profession as a sounding board that assists in blending the daily practice of public relations with a theoretical understanding of the “science beneath the art.”
As Fellows, we welcome your thoughts on how we meet these goals.