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UGA’s Lariscy to present University of Missouri Distinguished Scholar Lecture

UGA’s Lariscy to present University of Missouri Distinguished Scholar Lecture

Athens, Ga. – Ruthann Weaver Lariscy, professor in the department of advertising and public relations at the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, will present the University of Missouri’s Loren Reid Distinguished Scholar Lectureon Friday, Feb. 15, in Columbia.

Lariscy will address “Political Communication in the 21st Century.” She received her bachelor’s degree in political science/history and her Ph.D. in political communication at MU. She received her master’s degree in communication from Southwest Missouri State University.

“When I was anundergraduate, Professor Loren Reid introduced me to the academic study of persuasion,” said Lariscy.

Reid helped birth and pioneer the speech communication discipline, shaping it through his scholarship, his service, and his work with generations of students.

Author of numerous journal articles and books, Reid is a preeminent scholar of British rhetoric and public address. He also edited American Public Address: Studies in Honor of A.C. Baird and wrote the textbooks Speaking Well, Teaching Speech, and First Principles of Public Speaking. Now 102 years old, Reid plans to attend Lariscy’s lecture.

At Grady College, Lariscy teaches public relations principles, public relations research and graduate seminars in public opinion and public relations. She is also a member of the UGA graduate faculty.

Her research has been written about in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Washington Post, The Boston Herald and The Los Angeles Times and covered in broadcast by NPR, PBS, Italian National Television, Georgia Week in Review and network affiliates.

Lariscy focuses on political advertising and campaign management, public relations standards and health campaigns. She has authored numerous book chapters, journal articles and conference papers. Her work appears in the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Current Issues and Research in Advertising, Public Relations Research Journal, Public Relations Review, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Journal of Business Research, Political Communication and the Journal of Health Communication.

Prior to joining the Grady College faculty, Lariscy worked for a political consulting firm. She provides consulting and training for state and local government entities as well as private organizations.

Established in 1915, the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication offers seven undergraduate majors including advertising, broadcast news, magazines, newspapers, public relations, publication management and telecommunication arts. The college offers two graduate degrees, and is home to the Knight Chair in Health and Medical Journalism and the Peabody Awards, internationally recognized as one of the most prestigious prizes for excellence in electronic media. For more information, visit www.grady.uga.edu.