Committee Chair

Taylor, Jessica N.

Committee Member

Rausch, David W., Crawford, Elizabeth K.

Department

Dept. of Applied Leadership and Learning

College

College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

As higher education institutions increasingly compete for students, faculty, funding, and recognition, academic leaders are recognizing the essential role communications and public relations professionals play in maintaining and promoting the value of their institutional brands. Much has been written about the value of communications professionals in brand management in the corporate arena. However, it appears less attention has been paid to their role in higher education. This mixed-methods study was undertaken to examine the best practices for structuring and operating communications and public relations organizations for optimal success in promoting the higher education institutions they represent. Communications and public relations professionals from multiple higher education institutions, including that of the researcher, were surveyed about the structure and operations of the communications organizations at their respective institutions. The responses from the 43 participants indicated organizational structure was not a critical factor in communications success. The respondents did identify operational factors that contribute to well-functioning teams, regardless of organizational structure. These include establishing a culture of trust and collaboration within the team, recognition by institutional leaders of the value of communications and public relations to institutional goals, and strategic alignment with institutional leaders. The findings from this study offer insight for developing operational practices that could improve the success of communications organizations at higher education institutions.

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank my instructors in the Leadership and Instructional Practice program, who have guided me since I started my doctoral journey in 2021. I am especially grateful to Dr. Jessica Taylor, who has not only been my chair, but has kindly and skillfully supported me through this project of practice. Her knowledge, assistance, and humor have been essential. Additionally, I wish to express my gratitude to my family, Mark, Evan, and Amelia Grace Winburne, who have continually and lovingly encouraged me to keep working toward my goal.

Degree

Ed. D.; A research project of practice submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Education.

Date

12-2026

Subject

Communication in organizations; Universities and colleges--Public relations--Management

Keyword

communications; public relations; higher education

Document Type

Doctoral dissertations

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

xii, 115 leaves

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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