UA Department Chair Named Fellow of American Academy of Advertising

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dr. Joseph Phelps, department chair for The University of Alabama’s advertising and public relations department, has been named a Fellow of the American Academy of Advertising.

The award recognizes an individual’s lifetime achievement in the advancement of advertising scholarship, education and service to the discipline.

Phelps became the first active UA faculty member to receive the national distinction.

Faculty scholars from various universities recommended him for the honor, which was then approved by AAA’s nominating committee and shared with the entire international AAA membership for voting. Fellows must be approved by two-thirds of the voting members.

“The American Academy of Advertising is the premier scholarly association in my field in the world,” Phelps said. “To be named a Fellow of this organization is the highest honor that I can imagine, and I am indebted and grateful to the many colleagues that helped with the work that earned this distinction.”

Dr. Arnold Barban, a professor emeritus of advertising for UA, nominated Phelps for this honor.

In his nomination letter Barban wrote, “Although Joe has made significant contributions in all aspects of the criteria for being named a Fellow, I believe his greatest strength is in his research and scholarship.

“More personally, it was my pleasure — during the 10 or so years we interacted daily at Alabama — to see Joe’s commitment to improving the value of advertising education.”

Dr. Mark Nelson, dean of UA’s College of Communication & Information Sciences, echoed Barban’s sentiments about Phelps’ scholarship and commitment to his students.

“It is hard to find a faculty member who cares more about his or her students than Joe Phelps,” Nelson said. “That, combined with his outstanding scholarship, made him an obvious choice for this award, and we are pleased that the American Academy of Advertising recognized in him what we in the College see every day.”

Phelps’ research has been published in numerous advertising and marketing journals and in a few medical journals such as the American Journal of Transplantation and Critical care medicine.

He has served as president of the American Academy of Advertising and head of the Advertising Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

He serves as the Reese Phifer Professor of Advertising and Public Relations and has been with The University of Alabama for 25 years.