The Public Interest Communications Educators Network launched in the fall of 2021, led by faculty from the University of Florida and University of Washington. Its mission is to build the academic discipline of public interest communications nationwide, so that students can one day major in public interest communications as they major in journalism, public relations, advertising and other communication fields.
The network has more than 200 members, including faculty, administrators, graduate students, researchers and practitioners. The network’s steering committee has about 20 members from institutions across the country (see below). The network has organized panels about public interest communications at the International Communication Association, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications and the National Communication Association conferences. It also organizes an annual Public Interest Communications Summer Institute.
To watch a March 24, 2024, webinar organized by the network on “AI and the Public Interest: Ethics, Accessibility and Impact,” click here.
We are looking to expand our network! If you want to get involved, please contact Angela Bradbery at abradbery@jou.ufl.edu or Andrea Otáñez at aotanez@uw.edu
Network Steering Committee
Members of the network’s steering committee include faculty and researchers from:
- Appalachian State University
- Columbia University
- Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
- Howard University
- Marketing Mission
- National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in Higher Education
- Sonoma State University
- Hart Strategies
- University of Alabama
- University of Florida
- University of Houston
- University of Massachusetts Boston
- University of Minnesota
- University of Oklahoma
- University of the Pacific
- University of Texas at Austin
- Virginia Tech
- University of Washington
- West Virginia University
