Traverse-Healy, Tim

The end of World War II signaled the beginning of modern-day public relations practice, not only in the United States but also around the world. In the [Page 864]United Kingdom, Professor Tim Traverse-Healy, OBE, has earned his place as one of the modern-day architects of that global practice, beginning in the United Kingdom and extending to six continents and dozens of countries. Throughout his distinguished career as a practitioner and educator, Traverse-Healy shared his vision and insights into public relations as a profession, stressing philosophy over tactics.

Born in 1923, Traverse-Healy first studied medicine before earning his diploma in communications from London University. Traverse-Healy said his introduction to public relations arrived as an airdropped package behind the German enemy lines in France during World War II, where he served as a Royal Marine Commando in Special Forces. Among other things in the package was a book by the Christopher Fathers listing public relations as a career. Traverse-Healy put the practice of public relations together with his Jesuit school training and parental influences to form his own personal mission of “honoring God by serving man” (personal interview, July 1998).

Back in London after the war ended, Traverse-Healy set up shop with his partner, Denis Lyons, in 1947, establishing the first recognized postwar public relations consultancy. His military training served him well as he developed his practice around the strategy (the “thinking”) rather than the tactics (the “doing”) of public relations. The new focus on intelligence, research, and strategy garnered Traverse-Healy myriad corporate, global clients including Conrad Hilton, National Westminster Bank, plc., AT&T, Airbus Industrie, Cadburys, Ford Motor Company, Unilever, and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Ever expanding his understanding of the developing public relations practice around the world, he traveled to and interacted with the leading practitioners from all types of organizations, studying their best practices while refining his philosophy of what practice should be. “The 1950s was a time to invest the craft of public relations with social values and social force and rebuild the world after the catastrophe of the war,” Traverse-Healy said (personal interview, July 1998).

Traverse-Healy's influence has also been felt in the development of modern-day public relations education. He has been a professor at the University of Stirling in its fledgling days as the first public relations master's degree in the United Kingdom, and as a visiting professor and consultant to the University of Wales; the University of Westminster; the Faculty European Aviation Industry Management School in Toulouse, France; and Ball State and Baylor universities in the United States. In addition, Traverse-Healy has served on a wide range of educational commissions and boards, including secretary of the UK Public Relations Research Network, chairman of the UK Public Relations Education Trust, president of the International Public Relations Research and Education Foundation, and president of the International Foundation for Public Relations Studies. As in business, his emphasis in education was on the philosophy, strategy, and thinking involved in socially responsible practice. Traverse-Healy described this emphasis as “the difference between a profession and a craft” (personal interview, July 1998). Establishing his practice and sharing his expertise with education soon thrust Traverse-Healy onto the professional development stage. Underlying his business success was his growing reputation in questioning and nurturing the professional standards of public relations practice over the commercial practices and success of the field. He was a founding member of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR) in 1948, earned Fellow designation in 1956, and served as president in 1967–1968. He held offices in the European Public Relations Federation, the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) where he served as the founding secretary in 1950 to 1961, and twice was elected president of the World Public Relations Congress in 1970 and 1973. From 1952 to 1998, Traverse-Healy made more than 100 speeches on the social responsibilities of public relations practitioners to consider the public good as well as the organization's welfare to groups ranging from the Arthur Page Society in the United States to his 2003 keynote address to the World Public Relations Festival in Rome. His emphasis on codes of conduct and ethical behavior became the basis for the Code of Ethics & Professional Charter in the United Kingdom, [Page 865]adopted by the Public Relations Consultants Association in 1990 and the Institute of Public Relations in 1991. He also drafted the European Code of Conduct for the International Consultants Association and the European Consultants Association, adopted in 1991.

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