UA Plank Center to Award $25,000 for Leadership Studies in Public Relations

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Plank Center for Public Relations Studies at The University of Alabama will award up to $25,000 in competitive grants to scholars and professionals to study leadership in public relations. The grants of $2,500 to $10,000 will support research that advances knowledge of leadership in the profession and helps develop excellence in leadership.

Dr. Bruce Berger, director of the Plank Center and chair of the advertising and public relations department in the UA College of Communication and Information Sciences, said the new center seeks to help develop leadership values and skills in the classroom and the profession. “We face a deep and continuing need for outstanding public relations leaders and role models in a rapidly growing profession that now numbers more than 200,000 members just in this country,” Berger said. “The future and credibility of public relations are tied to its leadership, and helping to develop effective and ethical leaders for today and tomorrow provides a compelling challenge for the center. The research grants are a first small step in that direction.”

The center encourages collaborative proposals from scholars, educators, graduate students and professionals in public relations, organization studies, management and related fields. Themes for the grant proposals focus on what core values and skills are essential to excellence in leadership, how leadership values and skills get translated in public relations classes and how businesses and professional associations might collaborate with academia to develop leadership skills, among others.

Berger said the center welcomes proposals from any perspective or using any research method. A blind review process will be used to select recipients. Grant applications and guidelines are available from Berger, and grant proposals must be received at the Plank Center by May 15.

The center, named for UA alumna and nationally acclaimed public relations pioneer Betsy Plank, seeks to encourage a national dialogue among public relations professionals, educators and students about effective and ethical representation of institutions, organizations, ideas and individuals. It promotes teaching, research and service that further the understanding and practice of public relations.

The center is located in the College of Communication and Information Sciences at UA, one of the most prestigious communication colleges in the nation. C&IS consistently is ranked among the top 10 in number of doctoral degrees awarded and in many of its research programs. With nearly 600 students, UA’s public relations program is the largest undergraduate degree program in the College.