From Volkswagen to Ikea, Wen Zhao, PhD, served numerous clients in the public relations industry before pursuing a career in academia.
Currently an associate professor of communication and the director of Fairfield Meditz’s Public Relations program, Dr. Zhao’s business experiences illuminated the importance of social responsibility and continue to inform the structure of her classes, which are a natural extension of the University’s mission to develop ethically grounded, socially responsible citizens.
To demonstrate the intersection of social responsibility, advertising, and communication, Dr. Zhao integrates experiential learning into her public relations and capstone coursework through community-engaged learning. With support from Fairfield’s Center for Social Impact, she cultivates partnerships within the local community so that students can engage in simulated business-client relationships.
Students are connected with organizations that advocate for critical social issues such as sustainability or serving vulnerable populations. Building on classroom instruction, they meet with the client to understand the real-world problems they are addressing and their specific audiences. Guided by research, they work in teams to design public relations and digital communication campaigns that their clients can utilize.
“The process gives students a good perspective of this collaborative process with real-world clients,” said Dr. Zhao. “Most importantly, I teach students how to conduct formative research, including both surveys and focus groups. Students then understand the needs of their target audiences and help our clients solve problems.”
