Courtney Childers

Courtney Carpenter Childers joined the Tombras School of Advertising & Public Relations faculty at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2006. Her research interests deal with societal issues in advertising and public relations. More recent research projects and publications focus on how emerging media are impacting the advertising and public relations fields, specifically with influencer marketing efforts.

Childers has published in Journal of Interactive Advertising, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Media Psychology, Journal of Current Research and Issues in Advertising, and the Journal of Consumer Affairs. Dr. Childers has taught courses in Advertising and Public Relations Research (ADVT/PBRL 340R), Advertising Media Strategy (ADVT 360), Advertising Management (ADVT 450), Advertising Campaigns (ADVT 470), Public Relations Campaigns (PBRL 470S), Advertising Masters Project (ADVT 590), and an elective course in Social Media (ADVT/PBRL 461/561). She is a current member of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and the American Academy of Advertising (AAA).

Childers served as Chair of UT Social Media Week (UTSMW) from 2011-2021. UTSMW is a special event held in the College of Communication & Information where well-known speakers and panelists traveling from across the country convene in Knoxville to share social media expertise. Speakers and panelists from Dell, Facebook, Nike, Salesforce, UT Athletics, Buzzfeed, CNN, Scripps Networks, and others have participated in #utsmw.

Education

• PhD, Communication & Information Sciences, University of Alabama
• MA, Advertising & Public Relations, University of Alabama
• BA, Mass Communications, Middle Tennessee State University
• BA, Psychology, Middle Tennessee State University

Research Interests

• Advertising to children
• Food/beverage marketing
• Parental responses to advertising
• Societal issues
• Social media marketing
• Influencer marketing