UA Plank Center Awards More Than $17,000 in PR Leadership Grants

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations at The University of Alabama will award $17,000 to support two research projects that will enhance understanding of factors that contribute to effective and ethical leadership in public relations.

“We congratulate the grant recipients and look forward to the results of their research,” said 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. “These grants, along with other initiatives, represent the Center’s continuing efforts toward helping develop leadership values and skills in the classroom and profession.”

Recipients of the 2007 leadership grants are:

• Dr. Brooke Fisher Liu, DePaul University, and Dr. J. Suzanne Horsley, University of Utah, who received a grant of $9,937 for their study, “Public Relations Leaders in the Public and Private Sector: Peas in a Pod or Polar Opposites;” and
• Dr. Yan Jin, Virginia Commonwealth University, who was awarded $7,320 for her study, “Emotional Leadership as a Key Dimension of Public Relations Leadership: A Strategic Conflict Management Perspective.”

Scholars from 14 universities responded to the request for proposals issued in April, Berger said. The competitive proposals were blind reviewed by academics at three universities.

In 2006, the inaugural year of the leadership grants, four projects were funded for a total of $20,000.

Formed in 2005, the primary mission of the Plank Center is to help develop and recognize outstanding leaders and role models in public relations. Led by a national advisory board, the center supports research, teaching, service and professional educational efforts that further the understanding and ethical practice of public relations. The center is named for UA alumna and nationally acclaimed public relations pioneer, Betsy Plank.

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 600 students, UA’s public relations program is the largest undergraduate degree program in the College.