Bowen elected to the board of the Institute for Public Relations Commission on Measurement and Evaluation

Shannon A. Bowen, associate professor of public relations at the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, has been elected to the board of the Commission on Measurement and Evaluation.

The Institute for Public Relations, recognized globally as a premier organization focused on public relations research and mainstreaming of knowledge into practice, announced Bowen as among the new board leadership for its Commission on Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation;  Bowen will serve a three-year term beginning Jan. 1.

Bowen’s research interests include communication and media ethics, public relations ethics and theory, organizational communication, the strategic management of issues in the pharmaceutical industry, and the ethical decisions by media members surrounding representations of acts of terrorism. She is contributing editor of Media Ethics magazine and joint editor of peer-reviewed Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics.

She recently released the book, “An Overview of the Public Relations Function” (Business Expert Press, 2010) with co-authors Brad Rawlins and Thomas Martin. The book provides an executive review of the field of public relations with a focus on what managers need to know in order to master the function quickly and effectively.

She received a Ph.D. in communication and mass communication from the University of Maryland, a master’s degree in journalism and mass communications from the University of South Carolina, and a bachelor’s degree in advertising and sociology (double-major) the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The Institute’s Commission on Measurement and Evaluation was created in 1997 to develop and enhance measurement and evaluation in public relations. Commission membership consists of more than two dozen research thought leaders with representation from corporations and non-profits, public relations firms, research providers and academics. Commission members have produced books and dozens of articles about public relations measurement and evaluation. Several members are regular speakers at seminars and conferences, advocating for research and evaluation that demonstrates the effectiveness of public relations.