I’m LaTonya Taylor, a doctoral candidate in Advertising and Public Relations at the College of Communication and Information Science at the University of Alabama (#RollTide!). I was recently recognized as an SEC Emerging Scholar for 2023-2024.

My research centers around the question, “What is the role of activist public relations in social change?” I employ qualitative, humanistic, historiographic, and archival methods and rhetorical and critical/cultural analytical tools to pursue answers. My research areas include public relations history and rhetoric, the civil rights movement, social movements/activism, and the understudied context of public relations in higher education. Ultimately, my scholarship aims to give voice to those absent from the ongoing conversations in public relations.

As an educator, I’m motivated by this quote from Howard Thurman: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.” I’m driven by curiosity, and I want my students to see someone who has come alive. I strive to create an environment where they see me "nerding out"—being unabashedly enthusiastic about the topic or my research—hoping that it inspires them to discover what they are curious about. 

I am an adherent of the liberal arts tradition and try to model its virtues. I also believe that colleges and universities must provide students with practical experience and help them understand how they might apply their vocation—the thing that makes them come alive—to potential career paths.

I'm transitioning into academia after careers in PR and journalism. My industry expertise includes communications management, media strategy and public relations, and crisis communication. My professional recognition includes a 2019 Top Women in PR award from PRNEWS. I also hold a certificate in Crisis Leadership in Higher Education from the Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education.