Kathleen S. Kelly

Kathleen S. Kelly is an American public relations theorist and academic administrator. She is a professor and chair of the department of public relations at University of Florida. Kelly was the Hubert J. Bourgeois Research Professor in Communication at University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She served as associate dean of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Kelly is a Fellow of the PRSA.

Education Kelly earned a B.S. in journalism/news-editorial from University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) in 1973. In 1979, she completed a M.A. in journalism/public relations at UMD. Kelly earned a Ph.D. in public (mass) communication with a specialization in public relations at the UMD in 1989. Her doctoral advisor was James E. Grunig. Her dissertation on fund raising and public relations became the basis of her first book in 1991.

Awards and honors In 1996, Kelly was elected Fellow of the PRSA.

Selected works