Dr. Place is president-elect of the PRSA Greater Connecticut Chapter, a board member of the Commission on Public Relations Education, a member of the Page Society, and former senior research fellow at The Arthur W. Page Center. She is a past head of the Public Relations Division of Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), and a past head of AEJMC's Commission on the Status of Women. Additionally, she resides on the editorial boards of Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Journal of Public Relations Education, Journal of Media Ethics, Journal of Communication Management, and Journal of Public Interest Communications. Prior to returning to academia, Dr. Place was a public affairs account manager and a not-for-profit communications manager in the Washington, D.C. area.
Recent Honors and Awards:
* Recipient, Outstanding Woman in Journalism & Mass Communications Award, 2024, AEJMC CSW
* Winner, Plank Award for Leadership In Public Relations (Top Paper), IPRRC, 2024
* Co-Recipient,$10,000 Page / Johnson Legacy Grant to study mindfulness, EQ & listening, 2024-2025
* Recipient, M&T Bank Center for Women & Business Research Award, 2023-2024
* Finalist, Scripps-Howard / AEJMC 2023 Teacher of the Year
* Co-Recipient, Top Teaching Paper, AEJMC Public Relations Division, August 2023
* Recipient, Top Ethics Paper Award, International PR Research Conference (IPRRC), March 2023
* Recipient, Top Teaching Brief (GIFT) PRSA Educators Academy Summit, November 2022
* Co-Recipient, Top Teaching Paper, AEJMC Public Relations Division, August 2022
* Recipient, Top Paper, AEJMC Cultural & Critical Studies Division, August 2021
• Recipient, Arthur W. Page Center Senior Research Fellow (2019-2023) - Awarded grant to study organizational listening and marginalized publics.
• Recipient, 2020 Institute for Public Relations W. Ward White Award for Top Three Papers of Practical Significance - for paper on social media ethics
• Recipient, 2019 Institute for Public Relations W. Ward White Award for Top Three Papers of Practical Significance - for paper on social media marginalized publics
• Recipient, 2018 Institute for Public Relations W. Ward White Award for Top Three Papers of Practical Significance - for paper on listening and public relations
• Recipient, 2017-2018 Page and Johnson Legacy Scholar Grant, Sponsored by Arthur W. Page Center to study social media & mobile technology for low-income publics.
• Recipient, 2017 Plank Center Educators Fellowship @ Weber Shandwick
• Recipient, Journal of Public Relations Research 2015 “Karen Russell Award"
• Recipient, Quinnipiac University Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Grant, 2016-2017
• Recipient, Quinnipiac University Summer Research Grant, 2016
Education
- BA, Virginia Tech
- MA, Virginia Tech
- PHD, University of Maryland
Areas of Expertise
- Organizational Listening
- Gender and Communication
- Public Relations
- Social Media
- Campaign Strategy
Organization
- Advertising Public Relations
Office Location
- Comms, Computing & Engineering 271
Mail Drop
- CE-MCM
Experience
Quinnipiac University
Full Professor
Hamden, CT
2022 - Present
Quinnipiac University
Associate Professor
Hamden, Connecticut
2018 - Present
Quinnipiac University
Assistant Professor
Hamden, Connecticut
2014 - 2018
Saint Louis University
Assistant Professor
Saint Louis, Missouri
2010 - 2014
Selected Publications
Exploring digital, social, and mobile dialogic engagement with low-income publics
Place, K.R.
14(2) Public Relations Journal 1-18 (2019)
Listening as the driver of public relations practice and communications strategy within a global public relations agency
Place, K.R.
14(1) Public Relations Journal 1-18 (2019)
A longitudinal analysis of the gender income gap in public relations in the U.S. 1979-2014
Dozier, D., Place, K.R., Vardeman, J., Fussell Sisco, H., & Sha, B.-L.
47(1) Media Report to Women 12-18 (2019)
Moral dilemmas, trials, and gray areas: Exploring on-the-job moral development of public relations professionals
Place, K.R.
45(1) Public Relations Review 24-34 (2019)
Revisiting gendered assumptions of practitioner power: An exploratory study examining the role of social media expertise
Lee, H., Place, K.R., & Smith, B.G.
44(2) Public Relations Review 191-200 (2018)
Where are the women? An examination of the status of research on women and leadership in public relations
Place, K.R. & Vardeman-Winter, J.
44(1) Public Relations Review 165-173 (2018)