Journalism Professor Recognized for Outstanding Dissertation

Teresa Tackett, assistant professor of advertising and public relations in the School of Journalism and Strategic Media, won the 2023 Mass Communication and Society Dissertation Award from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication for “Mad (wo)Men: Examining How Female Advertising Leaders Leverage Corporate Social Advocacy to Resist a Male-Dominated Leadership Culture.” The award is given annually at the AEJMC national conference.

“We’re thrilled that professor Tackett joined the J-school this fall,” said Bret Schulte, chair of the School of Journalism and Strategic Media. “This competitive prize speaks to the quality of our incoming faculty and the type of education and scholarship we are dedicated to providing.”

The MCS Division of AEJMC awards excellence in graduate research with the dissertation award. Award winners are given a cash prize and an opportunity to publish in the division’s journal, Mass Communication and Society. Awardees address topics that advance mass communication research, especially at the societal or macrosocial level and emphasize the interaction with society and fit with the division’s mission.

Tackett has authored 15 national and international conference papers and publications. She has more than a decade of experience in strategic communications, with a combination of in-house marketing in higher education and agency work in public relations, marketing and advertising firms. Before returning to academia, her professional interests focused on digital media strategy, and she led cross-functional teams in conceptualizing, launching and measuring the effectiveness of multi-platform campaigns for both U.S.-based and global clients.

Tackett researches activism and social change; corporate social advocacy; and diversity, equity and inclusion in the fields of advertising and public relations. Her teaching interests include advertising strategy and campaigns, social and digital media, leadership, and media and society.

She earned a doctorate in media and communication from the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a Roy H. Park Doctoral Fellow. She has a master of science in mass communication from the School of Media and Strategic Communications at Oklahoma State University and a bachelor of arts in journalism and broadcasting with an emphasis in public relations from the Paul Miller School of Journalism and Broadcasting, also at Oklahoma State.

This story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.