Chuck Marsh

Charles Marsh retired in June 2021 after teaching more than 30 years at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications. He was the Oscar Stauffer Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas and associate dean of research and faculty development. His primary areas of research involve public relations, ethics and classical rhetoric. His research has appeared in Public Relations Inquiry, Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Journal of Mass Media Ethics and other journals. He is the author of Classical Rhetoric and Modern Public Relations: An Isocratean Model and co-author of the textbooks Public Relations: A Values-Driven Approach and Strategic Writing: Multimedia Writing for Public Relations, Advertising and More.

His research interests involve examining the “fully functioning society theory” of public relations. Pioneered by Robert L. Heath, that theory holds that a core function of public relations involves working to build humane and effective societies. Toward that end, he is examining public relations through the lenses of evolutionary biology, social justice and classical rhetoric.