ADPR Celebrates International Women’s Day
March 8 was International Women’s Day (IWD). IWD celebrates women’s achievements, raises awareness against bias, and takes action for equity. The IWD 2021 theme was #ChooseToChallenge, which encourages us to question stereotypes and help forge an inclusive world. The UT ADPR office was pleased to recognize this deserved focal point for women that is crucial to the women’s rights movement. To engage in the celebration, ADPR shared the accomplishments of its amazing faculty and staff who rewrite the narrative every day. Throughout Women’s History month ADPR is sharing the stories of students, faculty, and alumni who have helped us achieve so much.
Robyn Blakeman
Associate Professor, Robyn Blakeman, began teaching advertising and graphic design in 1987. She was responsible for designing and developing the first Online Integrated Marketing Communications Graduate Certificate and Online Integrated Marketing Communications Graduate programs in the country. In 2002 and 2004 Professor Blakeman was nominated for inclusion in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. In 2003 she was included in Who’s Who in America, and in 2004 became a member of United Who’s Who. She has published two texts, The Bare Bones of Advertising Print Design, and Creative Strategy for Integrated Marketing Communications. Professor Blakeman currently teaches design at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
Courtney Childers
Associate Professor, Dr. Courtney Carpenter Childers, joined the School of Advertising & Public Relations faculty at the University of Tennessee in 2006. Dr. Childers has published articles in the Journal of Interactive Advertising, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Media Psychology, the Journal of Current Research and Issues in Advertising, and the Journal of Consumer Affairs. Dr. Childers is the Executive Director of the Adam Brown Social Media Command Center. The Adam Brown Social Media Command Center is one of the only university facilities in the world powered by Salesforce Marketing Cloud Social Studio software and technology. In addition, Dr. Childers served as Chair of UT Social Media Week (UTSMW) from 2011-2021.
Moonhee Cho
Associate Professor, Dr. Moonhee Cho, focuses her primary research on organization-public relationships and engagement, nonprofit public relations, social movements, and strategic use of social/digital media. Cho has published more than 30 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals and book chapters. She also has presented more than 55 pieces of original research at national and international academic conferences. She was was the recipient of CCI’s Outstanding Research Award in 2018. She is a former fundraiser and public relations practitioner at Partners for the Future Foundation, the charity arm of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea. She also worked at United Way North Central Florida to develop a donor relations program.
Elizabeth Avery Foster
Beth Avery Foster is Director and Professor in the School of Advertising & Public Relations. She was Co-Director of the Risk, Health, and Crisis Communication Organized Research Unit at the University of Tennessee from 2009-2013. Foster has published more than 40 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals and presented 50 pieces of original research at national and international academic conferences. Her research unit received $156,000 in funding from the University of Tennessee Office of Research. She recently received a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop interventions for the opioid epidemic in rural Appalachia. Foster’s research won the College-wide research award for top faculty researcher in 2010 and 2017.
Mariea Hoy
Mariea Grubbs Hoy is a Professor of advertising in the School of Advertising and Public Relations, University of Tennessee. She holds her PhD in Business Administration/Marketing from Oklahoma State University. Her research interests include online privacy, children’s advertising, and advertising disclosures. She has presented at FTC workshops including “Putting Disclosures to the Test” held in September 2016. She teaches Advertising Campaigns, Advertising Issues and Advertising Research at the undergraduate level and Advertising and Society at the graduate level. She has been featured several times in national news for her work on Sharenting. Professor was the inaugural recipient of the DeForrest Jackson Professorship (2017-2020) in the School of Advertising and Public Relations.
Sally McMillan
Professor Sally J. McMillan’s primary teaching areas are advertising management, media, social media, and research. McMillan served as associate dean for academic programs in the College of Communication and Information (2005-2009), as UT Knoxville Vice Provost for Academic Affairs (2010-2015) and as ADPR Interim Director (2019-20). Her research explores the impact of new communication technologies on individuals, organizations and society; examines factors that lead to academic success for students from diverse backgrounds; and evaluates approaches to communicating with underserved populations about health. She has published more than 50 scholarly articles and has received multiple awards for both her teaching and research. She is a member of the American Academy of Advertising, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the Association of Internet Researchers and the International Communication Association.
Candace White
Professor Candace L. White’s research interests include the role of global corporations as non-state actors in public diplomacy, and how corporate social responsibility and CSR communication affect the image and national reputation of the country with which the corporation is associated. She is a Faculty Fellow at the Howard H. Baker, Jr. Center for Public Policy in the area of global security and an Arthur W. Page Legacy Scholar. She serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Public Relations Research and the International Journal of Strategic Communication. She was a Fulbright Senior Specialist at the University of Salzburg, Austria (2010) and at the University of Siena, Italy (2020); with support from the University of Tennessee, she has lectured in Denmark, Scotland, Wales, Austria, Croatia, and Italy. White is the current holder of the DeForrest Jackson Professorship in the School of Advertising and Public Relations. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.
Lauren Ziegler
Lauren Ziegler is the Coordinator for the School of Advertising and Public Relations and a Ph.D. Student in the Department of Anthropology (UTK). As a public anthropologist, she has worked in higher education for nearly a decade, focusing on student outreach to diverse and underrepresented students. She works with students, young alumni, and faculty developing outreach programs, creating web and social content, and providing support to the department. Lauren sits on a number of committees at the university including Social Media Week; CCI Diversity and Inclusion committee; and the Disasters, Displacement, and Human Rights biannual conference committee.
Natalie Hill
Natalie Hill is the Communications and Social Media Intern for the School of Advertising & Public Relations. Natalie is a senior public relations major in the School of Advertising & Public Relations. Natalie has worked for several organizations across Tennessee providing them with updated social media management. She worked on a winning campaign for a local nonprofit, Helping Mamas, Knoxville, and is currently working on a social media campaign for VANS in her PBRL 461 course with Dr. Matthew Pittman.
Jill Williams
ADPR student assistant Jill Williams is originally from Nashville, Tennessee. Jill attended UT for her undergraduate education where she received her bachelor’s in Communications with a concentration in public relations. Before graduating in May of 2020, she began to explore her options and decided she wanted to reach new heights and become a master’s student in PR here at UT. Her research interests include computer-mediated communication and how it affects relationships and crisis communications. Jill is planning to write her thesis in the coming year and hopes to continue her education in the social science field by pursuing a PhD.