Master’s Thesis Award Past Winners

2010 Rowena Briones, University of Maryland
“How Young Women Make Meaning of Sexual Assault Campaigns“
2009 Moonhee Cho, University of Florida
“Top Corporate Donors and Charitable Organizations: Utilizing the Coorientation Model to Examine Benefits and Relationships.“
Faculty Advisor: Kathleen S. Kelly, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Public Relations, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida
2008 Hye Kyung Kim, Syracuse University
“Stakeholders’ Evaluation Processes of a Racial Crisis”
2007 Major Chad G. Carroll, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
“The U.S. Army Public Diplomacy Officer: Military Public Affairs Officers’ Roles in The Global Information Environment.”
2006 Catherine Sheldon, University of Georgia
“Image Repair on the Political Front: An Experiment Testing Effects of Communication Strategy and Performance History in a Political Faux Pas”
2005 Yimin Wang, Univeristy of Florida
“Cross-National Conflict Shifting: A Case Study of the DuPont Teflon Crisis”
2004 Marcia Watson, University of South Florida
“Organizational Uncertainty Management: Developing a Framework for Public Relations Practitioner Involvement”
2003 David Youngmeyer, University of Maryland
“The Development of Reputational Relationships and Perceived Sources of Out-Group Attitudes in the Professional Socialization of Journalism and Public Relations Students”
2002 Rocky Cabagnot, University of Florida
“Celebrities and the Right of Publicity: A Study of Economic Damage and Moral Rights”
2001 Tina Carroll, University of South Alabama
“How Public Relations is Perceived and Taught in MBA Programs: A Survey of Business School Professors”
2000 Kimberly Gill, University of Florida
“Seeing the Forests for the Trees: Communication and Relationship Building Tactics of Activist Groups and Forest Products Companies”
1999 Yunna Rhee, University of Maryland
“Confucian Culture and Excellent Public Relations: A Study of Generic Principles and Specific Applications in South Korean Public Relations Practice”
1998 Christopher Knaus, Washington State University in Pullman
“The AIDS Memorial Quilt on a College Campus and its Implications: An Analysis of the Effectiveness of Alternative HIV Prevention Education and Awareness Building Events”
1997 Carol Ann McKeown, San Jose State University
“Candidates’ Web Site Use During the 1996 Presidential Campaign”
1996 Virginia Sheng, University of Maryland
“Multicultural Public Relations: A normative approach”
1995 Murvyn Callo, University of Southern California
“Total Quality and Excellent Public Relations: An Analysis of Total Quality Management Practices that Impact Performance of Corporate Public Relations Practitioners”
1994 Martha Lepore, Boston University
“Professionalism and the Public Relations Body of Knowledge: Implications for an Emerging Profession”
1993 Gregory Smith, University of Minnesota
“Making Medicine Matter: A Study of Hospital Communications”
1992 Zoraida Rosario, Syracuse University
“The Utility of Ehling’s Means-Ends Paradigm of Public Relations Management: A case study Approach”
Jo Nell Miettinen, San Diego State University
“Intent and Behavior: A Prediction Model Examining the Gap Between Stated Intent and Actual Behavior”
1991 Eric Haley, University of Georgia
“The Relationship of Organizational Structure and Communication: A Study of Daily and Crisis Communication Activities of Hospitals”
1990 Kerry Humphrey, University of Maryland
“Entrepreneurial Women in Public Relations: Why Open Collars?”
1989 Barbara Lynn Wetherell, University of Maryland
“The Effect of Gender, Masculinity, and Femininity on the Practice of and Preference for the Models of Public Relations”
1988 Jody Buffington, University of Maryland
“CEO Values and Corporate Culture: Developing a Descriptive Theory of Public Relations”
1987 John Gibbs, University of Florida
“An Evaluation of Grunig’s Decision-Situation Theory of Communication”
1986 Marianne Portugal Dayrit, University of Florida
“Boundary-Spanning Roles: Public Relations and Media Practitioners”
1985 Mark E. Cattell, University of Georgia
“An Assessment of Public Relations and Issue Management in Relation to Strategic Planning in American Business Corporations”
1984 C. Del Galloway, University of Florida
“Dimensions of Media Credibility as Contingent Conditions in the Agenda-Setting Process”
1983 James B. Cook, University of Wisconsin-Madison
“Public Relations Roles and Practitioner Communication Behavior”
1982 David Micklos, University of Maryland
“Constraints on the Social Responsibility of Public Relations Science Writers”
1981 Alan W. Jensen, Brigham Young University
“Functional or Functionary: An Examination of the Status of Public Relations in Large U.S. Banks”