LaShonda Eaddy , Ph.D.

As I’ve pondered my scholarly identity and the characteristics that set me and my
research apart from others, the overwhelming theme that resonated with me was my
passion for the public relations field. Public relations has been part of everything I
have done, both as a professional and a scholar. Therefore, I decided to center
“practitioner scholar” as my foremost scholarly identity.

As a “practitioner scholar,” my primary objective is to conduct research that can help
public relations professionals. I am particularly interested in crisis communications.
My main research question is “What are the impacts of crisis history?” To understand
this, I formulate queries with regard to perceptions, behaviors, emotions, or
intentions regarding organizations that are currently experiencing crises. I also seek
to uncover what makes crisis history more or less salient for people as they make
evaluations of organizations that are currently experiencing crises. Extant literature
has only examined crisis history as a superficial construct, examining the impacts of
crisis history as either present or absent. The truth is more complicated. Therefore,
I have found a literature gap where I can lead the scholarly endeavor as the leading
crisis history expert and make significant contributions. The crisis communication
field is ripe and in need of further crisis history exploration. My research fills an
urgent gap in two related fields: public relations as a profession, and public relations
as an academic discipline. My questions and scholarly insights provide actionable
results to inform crisis communication strategy.