History and development of public relations education in North America

Author:

Wright Donald K.

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a critical analysis of the history and development of public relations education in the USA and Canada.Design/methodology/approachThe research methodology used for this paper is the historical/critical analysis approach.FindingsThis paper finds more differences than similarities between public relations educational development in the two countries. The first PR course at a US university was taught at the University of Illinois in 1920 and the first US degree program was offered by Boston University in 1947. The first Canadian university PR course was taught at McGill University n 1948 and the first university degree was offered by Mount Saint Vincent University in 1977. Although PR courses and degrees are offered at a small number of élite US universities, the greatest recent PR curriculum development has been at smaller, second‐ or third‐tier institutions. While a few Canadian universities offer courses and degree programs in the field, most of Canada's recent PR program growth has been at colleges rather than at universities.Practical implicationsRightly or wrongly, academic institutions often look to North America for direction when it comes to establishing and developing public relations education programs. A number of factual inaccuracies about public relations education history have frequently surfaced in books and journal articles. This paper corrects a number of those inaccuracies and in doing so improves public relations scholarship.Originality/valueA thorough review of the literature suggests that this paper represents the only journal‐length piece about the history and development of public relations education in Canada and the USA.

Publisher

Emerald

Subject

Strategy and Management,Communication

Reference53 articles.

1. Argenti, P.A. (2009), Corporate Communication, 5th ed., McGraw‐Hill, Boston, MA.

2. Becker, L.E., Vlad, T., Tucker, M. and Pelton, N.R. (2006), “2002 enrollment report: enrollment growth continues, but at a reduced rate”, Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, Vol. 61 No. 3, pp. 297‐317.

3. Bernays, E.L. (1978), “Education for PR: a call to action”, Public Relations Quarterly, Fall, p. 18.

4. Bruner, B.R. and Fitch‐Hauser, M. (2006), “An examination of the current state of public relations”, Teaching Public Relations Monograph, Vol. 71, pp. 1‐4.

5. Canadian Public Relations Society (2010), Pathways to the Profession: An Outcomes‐Based Approach towards Excellence in Canadian Public Relations and Communications Management Education, The National Council on Public Relations Education of the Canadian Public Relations Society, Toronto.

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