Shannon A. Bowen, associate professor of public relations in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, was awarded the Jackson Jackson & Wagner Behavioral Science Prize by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Foundation at the PRSA 2011 International Conference. The award recognizes individual behavioral science researchers whose scholarly work enhances the understanding of the concepts and theories that contribute to the effectiveness of public relations practice.
“This award by JJ&W and PRSA is an important moment for our field: my body of research on ethics winning this prestigious recognition emphasizes the centrality of ethics to our profession,” says Bowen. “Ethics is a crucial part of top management at any organization, but in PR, with such an enormous role in the formation of public policy, ethics is the key to determining the responsibilities and status of the industry. I am delighted that this award highlights the primacy of ethics to our emerging profession.”
“The Jackson Jackson & Wagner Behavioral Science Prize is one of the most prestigious honors in public relations research,” says Debbie A. Mason, president of the PRSA Foundation Board of Trustees, and president and CEO of the United Way of North Central Florida. “We’re pleased to honor Shannon Bowen as she and her colleagues have made significant and meaningful contributions to promoting the strategic value of research as the core of effective public relations practice.”
Bowen specializes in communication ethics, strategic communication management, issues management, dominant coalition decisions, public relations theory, organizational communication, social media and engagement and the intersection of organizational culture with ethics.
As a quantitative research analyst for the polling firm American Viewpoint, Bowen designed research and strategy for numerous corporate and political clients, including Philip Morris, Dow Corning and Monsanto. She also served as a consultant analyst to Lake Sosin Snell and Perry Research on political candidates. She spent a year on Capitol Hill as a constituent relations specialist for Congressman Floyd D. Spence, then chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on National Security.
Bowen sits on the board of directors of the nonprofit International Public Relations Research Conference, and was the 2010-11 chair of the Media Ethics Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. She also serves on several journal editorial boards and is a contributing editor of Media Ethics and a joint editor of Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics. She is currently writing a public relations textbook.
