Professional and Professionalism

Professionals in public relations, whether practitioners or educators, are challenged to meet “the societal need for expertise and credentialism” while providing a “crucial link between the individual's struggle for a fulfilling existence and the needs of the larger society” (Leeper & Leeper, 2005, p. 645). Because morals are cultivated by and handed down within professions, public relations leadership, through research and codes of ethics, contributes to the necessary infrastructure and standards essential to the professional benefit of society.

Several academic developments advanced the discipline toward an ever higher level of professionalism. In 1989, the first theory book in public relations [Page 689]reported national research evaluating the state of U.S. public relations curriculum offerings in college and university catalogs (Neff, 1989, p. 167). By the early 1980s, 240 departments were offering public relations (21 had graduate programs) with public relations mentioned in either the title or course description. The data pointed to widespread offerings among diverse departments: 41% were communication(s), 21% journalism, 17% business, 8% interdisciplinary, 7% mass communication, 4% miscellaneous, and 2% public relations. These varieties of program locations also were likely to hold different standards of professionalism.

In the 1980s, only journalism departments had an established association with a public relations division that sponsored research: Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). This period was a tipping point for public relations professional and academic association development; it witnessed the emergence of a diverse body of knowledge reflecting various disciplinary perspectives. The increasing curriculum interest in public relations at colleges and universities needed to be reflected in the respective associations. This situation was resolved by establishing public relations research interest groups, divisions, and tracks in professional and academic associations that had previously lacked public relations representation.

Slowly such organizations gained momentum in developing division status and contributing research agendas that added to the public relations body of knowledge through refereed research as well as short courses relevant to certification and accreditation. These associations (both academic and/or practitioner based) included the Association of Women in Communications (AWC, which sponsors student chapters), AEJMC, International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), Public Relations Society of America (PRSA, along with the Public Relations Student Society of America and the Educators Academy), International Communication Association (ICA), National Communication Association (NCA), International Public Relations Research Conference (IPRRC-Miami) in conjunction with the Institute for Public Relations, Central States Communication Association (CSCA), and International Academy of Business Disciplines (IABD).

The maturation of the public relations discipline as a force for professionalism is supported by the historical establishment of values through several efforts. These include development of ethical codes; a refereed body of knowledge; creation of a professional organizational infrastructure; development of accreditation standards for both the professional practitioner and academic public relations programs, including the growing opportunities for degree programs from undergraduate through doctoral degree programs; along with internships and fellowships for students, academics, and practitioners; and training for practitioners interested in teaching. This growth in professionalism through associations provides a platform for furthering the profession by building on a foundation of nearly 7,000 refereed presentations of research since the inception of public relations units. Beginning in the 1990s, three national commissions focusing on undergraduate (1998 and 2006) and graduate (2011) education standards have provided an introspective view of the discipline. The standards were widely distributed and integrated into many academic programs across the United States. The Commission on Public Relations Education said in its October 1999 report, “the changes in public relations practice since the 1987 [report] … are numerous and profound. By any measure the growth of the public relations profession over the past decade has been astonishing” (n.p.). Public relations units within academic and/or professional associations supplied most of these accomplishments.

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