Dean A. Kruckeberg
Dean A. Kruckeberg Profile (UI SJMC Ph.D. 1985)
By Peter Gross (UI SJMC Ph.D. 1984)
“Dean [Kruckeberg] has been such an important influence on generations of students in the United States and abroad…. Without his imprint, dedication, and hard work (absolutely the hardest working person I know) PR education globally would not be the same,” writes Marina Vujnovic, a professor at Monmouth University, who also earned a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Vujonic, 2024)
Kruckeberg’s stellar career has impacted the lives of students and scholars, as well as the teaching, theories, and practice of public relations in the United States and across the globe (Vujoinic, 2024; Valentini, 2024).
A professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and a former executive director of its Center for Global Public Relations (2008 to 2013), Kruckeberg’s influence on global public relations scholarship is a “major contribution,” said Professor Chiara Valentini, Head of Corporate Communication Discipline, at the Jyväskylä University School of Business & Economics (JSBE), Jyväskylä, Finland (Valentini, 2024). Valentini singles out “(Kruckeberg’s) community-building theory of public relations, later known as the organic theory of public relations. It’s one of the few non-organizational-centric theories that places society at the center of the public relations function.”
Kruckeberg’s first of nine books established his commitment to accountability and responsibility in public relations. Co-authored with the former Director of UI’s SJMC, Professor Ken Starck, Public Relations and Community: A Reconstructed Theory, published in 1988, was recognized with the first annual PRIDE Award from the National Communication Association - Public Relations Division. Kruckeberg’s subsequent co-authored book, This Is PR: The Realities of Public Relations, was published worldwide in several languages, and Kruckeberg’s co-authored Transparency, Public Relations and the Mass Media: Combating the Hidden Influences in News Coverage Worldwide reinforced his global academic stature.
Two co-edited books, dozens of book chapters, articles in academic and professional journals, and invited lectures and workshops at universities in Bulgaria, Germany, Latvia, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates add heft to Kruckeberg's domestic and international presence. His many conference and seminar paper presentations have taken him to South Korea, Denmark, England, Romania, Singapore, Taiwan, and Ukraine.
Predictably, accolades for Kruckeberg’s leadership, scholarship, and teaching escalated throughout his career.
In 2019, on its 75th anniversary, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) awarded Kruckeberg its Gold Anvil which is regarded as “the Society’s highest individual award . . . the PRSA lifetime achievement award . . . (an individual) whose accomplishments have made a major contribution to the profession” (PRSA Gold Anvil Award). The recognition is notable for several reasons. PRSA rarely presents this award to an academic - and its recipients include Edward L. Bernays, Philip Lesly, and Scott M. Cutlip, among other luminaries of the profession. Besides Kruckeberg, only one other recipient with a University of Iowa connection has been so honored. James F. Fox, a 1950 graduate of the UI SJMC, received his Gold Anvil in 1978, was inducted into the SJMC’s Hall of Fame in 1971, and the school’s student chapter of PRSSA is named for him.
While congratulating Kruckeberg on receiving the Gold Anvil, Donald K. Wright, Ph.D., Harold Burson Professor in Public Relations and Chair, Boston University’s Department of Mass Communication, Advertising and Public Relations, told him: “Few have done more for PRSA than you have, and the entire public relations universe is better because of all of your tireless efforts.”
Among other national awards are the PRSA 2013 Atlas Award for Lifetime Achievement in International Public Relations; the PRSA 1995 national "Outstanding Educator;" and the 2006 Jackson & Wagner Behavioral Research Prize; the Institute for Public Relations’ 1997 Pathfinder Award; and the 1997 State of Iowa Regents Faculty Excellence Award.
In addition, Dr. Kruckeberg was presented with the 2011 Infinity Award, the highest honor bestowed upon a public relations professional by the Charlotte Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. In May 2013, he was inducted into Rowan University’s Public Relations Hall of Fame.
Kruckeberg was also a Senior Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research, a member of its Board of Directors, and Chair of the Editorial Committee of SNCR’s Journal of New Communications Research (JNCR). He is a former co-chair and member of the Commission on Public Relations Education.
Before joining UNC-Charlotte, Kruckeberg was a public relations professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Northern Iowa for 25 years, serving most of that time as coordinator of the Public Relations Degree Program and the Mass Communication Division.
References
PRSA Gold Anvil Award (n.d.) https://www.prsa.org/conferences-and-awards/awards/individual-awards/gold-anvil-award. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
Vujonic, M. (2024). Email communication received in April 2024.
Valentini, C. (2024). Email communication received in April 2024.