Study finds UGA PR program most prolific in online PR research

Kaye Sweetser

University of Georgia public relations faculty ranked number one in a recent analysis of research about "online" public relations efforts. The study was conducted by Drs. Lan Ye and Eyun-Jung Ki, faculty at the University of Alabama, and was published in the Journal of Public Relations Research, Vol. 24, No. 5, 2012. The analysis examined peer-reviewed articles published from 1992 to 2009.

The University of Georgia ranked first with a calculated score of 9.24, followed most closely by the University of Florida with a score of 3.66, Rutgers University with a score of 3.65, and the University of Maryland with a score of 3.00. Associate professor Kaye Sweetser led the UGA public relations faculty with nine published articles relating to online public relations, followed by Professor Lynne Sallot with four articles, Associate Professor Bryan Reber with three articles, Professor Ruthann W. Lariscy with two articles and Associate Professor Carolina Acosta-Alzuru with one article.

"UGA's ADPR department received a score of 9.24 in this study.That score is a combination of the number of articles produced by the university and the number of researchers from that university," said Dr. Reber. "The second-best university in this study was Florida with a score of 3.66.  So, you can see that Georgia really dominated in research about online public relations."

To compute the scores, the study assigned a credit of 1.0 to each article. For a single-author article, the author and the author's institution was assigned 1.0 credit. For multi-authored submissions, the authors and their institutions would receive partial credit. For a two-author article, an author would receive a credit of 0.5, while a three-author submission would give each author a 0.33 score. 

"The results of this analysis show that University of Georgia is the top source of cutting-edge knowledge about the nature and effects of social and digital public relations practice," said Tom Reichert, Department Head of Advertising and Public Relations. "Our public relations faculty are leading the field in this important area of scholarship."

Grady students heading to Brazil to study and intern

Tom Reichert, ADPR Department Head, Ze Schiavoni, CEO of S2Publicom, Bryan Reber, ADPR Assistant Department Head

   Grady College students will participate in a new UGA Language Flagship program with Universidade Estadual Paulista, or UNESP, the State University of São Paulo. AdPR Department Head and Professor Tom Reichert and Assistant Department Head and Associate Professor Bryan Reber visited São Paulo in October to help set up internship opportunities for flagship AdPR sudents, raise awareness of Grady College/AdPR in Brazil, as well as explore study abroad, research and professional opportunities for Grady students and faculty. 
   The Language Flagship program is an initiative of the U.S. National Security Education Program, which has the goal of increasing the number U.S. students in reaching language proficiency at a professional level by the time of graduation. Dr. Robert Moser is the director of UGA's Portuguese program and was instrumental in securing the renewable federal grant exceeding $1 million. The UGA delegation to Brazil include Moser as well as representatives from UGA's Franklin College, International Education, Alumni Relations and the Office of Special Events to help foster relationships with UNESP. 
   As the largest country in South America with one of the world's fastest-growing economies, Brazil has become a place of interest for its energy and momentum. With more than 200 million citizens, and its hosting responsibilities for the World Cup and Summer Olympics in the next few years, there are many opportunities in the AdPR industry for travel, study and research.

I love that the program focuses on immersing the students in Brazilian culture, language and way of life throughout the year.  - Emily Escoe

    One of the goals of the trip was to help establish internship opportunities for students interested in the program. Emily Escoe, a senior from Toccoa studying public relations and Portuguese, will be the first Grady student to study abroad this spring in Brazil, after having passed the rigorous Portuguese proficiency exam. Her year abroad will include a semester of coursework followed with another semester spent working at a major-relevant internship. Currently five Grady students are on track to take the proficiency exam and apply for the program.
"Public relations is a major and growing field in the country, so I am excited to learn about the profession from a different perspective," Escoe said.
  As mentioned, Dr. Reichert and Dr. Reber developed contacts with leading advertising and public relations agencies, such as Corporate Image, Almap BBDO, Studio2publiccom, Ogilvy & Mather, Rapp, as well as the Museum of Portuguese Language. 
   As for Escoe, she says she is excited about the benefits of the program's immersion into a new country. "I love that the program focuses on immersing the students in Brazilian culture, language and way of life throughout the year. We will be taking courses taught be UNESP professors, rather than UGA professors. We will be living with other Brazilian students as opposed to living together as a large group. The second semester, we will be spread out across the country learning in a real Brazilian workplace setting," Escoe said.  "Will I be thrown out of my comfort zone and accidentally say or do ridiculous things? Sure. But I know that I will learn so much more Portuguese and about Brazilian culture in this way as opposed to going on a traditional study abroad program."