Dr. Breann E. Murphy

Endowed Scholar of Diversity in Leadership and Public Relations

Associate Professor
399 Merrill Hall
256-782-5389
bmurphy5@jsu.edu   

Dr. Murphy joined the faculty at Jacksonville State University shortly after receiving her doctoral degree from the University of Alabama. Her main research interest, which she continues to pursue, is examining the leadership of women who serve in executive roles in the communication industry, specifically in the field of public relations. Her award-winning work in this field has led to her garnering Top Faculty Paper honors from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s (AEJMC’s) public relations division. Samples of her scholarly work in this area can be found in academic journals, such as the Journal of Public Relations Research, PR Journal, PR Inquiry, and the Journal of Public Relations Education. She has also published research exploring athletic image repair in sport communication and implementation of leadership practices in undergraduate education.

Dr. Murphy’s primary work is in response to an ongoing challenge in her discipline. Women comprise the majority (various studies report 63-71% of the field) of practitioners in the public relations workforce. However, they are traditionally underrepresented in the top positions in the industry. Given the growing profile and demand for Dr. Murphy’s work, she was awarded the department’s and college’s first endowed scholar role to support expansion on her award-winning research, so the unit can continue to build our understanding of effective leadership practices of women and underrepresented leaders in the field. This work additionally helps encourage and support students in the program, as well as practitioners, through mentorship and professional development programming.

Dr. Murphy’s service record also reflects the impressive quality of her scholarship. From 2019-2024, she served as the Faculty Adviser of PRSSA, our university's award-winning professional student organization in public relations. Under her advisement, the chapter earned state-wide awards for its programming and recruiting efforts from PRSA Alabama (2022, 2024), national recognition from PRSSA in a Teahan award for its programming efforts (2023), and was one of only 39 out of 400 chapters in the global footprint of PRSSA to merit a Star Chapter award (2023, 2024). Along with this service, she is on the university's Women in Academia Support Group as the faculty representative for the College of Business and Industry and on the newly formed Women in Business and Industry task force. Additionally, she has served as an academic advisor for our department's public relations and advertising concentration.

Dr. Murphy has continued to be an active member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), which is the national professional association for public relations practitioners. In 2023, she was elected to the Executive Board for Alabama PRSA, the state chapter of this national association, as Treasurer, a role which she continued in 2024. Before this service, she previously served as Programming Chair for Alabama PRSA in 2022. Then, in 2025, she was elected to serve as Alabama PRSA’s East Alabama Regional Coordinator. She also continues to conduct collaborative work with local nonprofits and public relations agencies, along with serving as Secretary (2022-2024) and Vice-Chair Elect (2025) for the Public Relations Division for the Southern States Communication Association. She is additionally an active member of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) by serving on the Teaching Committee for the Public Relations Division (2023-2024, 2024-2025) and participating in the Commission on the Status of Women, along with becoming a Kopenhaver Center Fellow in 2023 for the Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication.