DUAL - Case Studies in PR - COMT 526-800

Uses actual cases to assess strategic decisions concerning internal and external publics and appreciate the accompanying ethical, legal, economic, psychological, organizational, political, and media impact of such decisions.

Dr. Keller, professor of Communication at MSU Billings, uses her research to address public health concerns and help communities. Currently, she is principal investigator on a multi-university National Science Foundation grant to examine threats to graduate student and faculty wellbeing. Last year, she led students to investigate barriers to integration experienced by the Roma population in South Eastern Europe, and produced a documentary entitled, “The Roma Storytelling Project.” A strong believer in using stories to promote social change, Dr. Keller engaged students throughout South Eastern Montana in a community theater project to prevent suicide, entitled “Let’s Talk.” That project was shown to effectively reduce actor and audience stigma of help-seeking, a known barrier to psychological health.

After receiving her bachelor’s degree in social sciences at Wesleyan University, master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, and Ph.D. in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Dr. Keller joined MSU Billings in 2004 as a professor of communication. Since then, she has received several national grants from the U.S. State Department, the National Science Foundation, and awards, including the MSUB Service-Learning Award, two Walter and Charlotte Pippenger Awards for Excellence in Innovation and a Winston and Helen Cox Fellowship Award for Faculty Excellence.