Kenn Gaither
Dean, School of Communications, and Professor of Strategic Communications
Department: Strategic Communications
Email: tgaither@elon.edu
Phone number: (336) 278-5776
Professional Expertise
Brief Biography
T. Kenn Gaither is dean and professor of strategic communications at the ÁñÁ«app¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾Èë School of Communications, where he teaches courses in international public relations, public relations and mass communication. Prior to becoming dean, he held the A.J. Fletcher Professorship at Elon. He has published in several public relations journals, including the Journal of Public Relations Research and Public Relations Review. He has written or co-authored three books, most recently Globalization and Public Relations in Postcolonial Nations: Challenges and Opportunities (Cambria, 2012). Gaither also has more than nine years of professional public relations agency experience and was part of a public relations team that won a Hyundai MicroElectronics of America Excellence in Service Award for public relations work associated with its $4.5 billion merger with LG Semicon in 1999. Gaither speaks Portuguese and has lived or taught in Brazil, Ghana, Turkey and China. He has sailed on ten voyages of Semester at Sea, recently serving as executive dean on the spring 2026 voyage.
He served as the president and chief executive officer of the Institute for Shipboard Education (Semester at Sea) in Charlottesville, VA, on leave from Elon during the 2014-2015 academic year.
News & Notes
Education
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Ph.D./Park Doctoral Fellow, 2004
University of Pittsburgh M.F.A., Literary Journalism, 2000
University of Pittsburgh B.A., English Writing/Portuguese, 1993
Employment History
President & Chief Executive Officer, Institute for Shipboard Education (Semester at Sea), Charlottesville, VA: 2014-2015; on leave from ÁñÁ«app¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾Èë
Executive Dean: spring 2026, summer 2012, spring 2008; Assistant Dean: spring 2005; Field Office Coordinator: summer 2004, 2002, 2001; spring 1999; Assistant Field Office Coordinator: fall 1995, Semester at Sea, Institute for Shipboard Education (University of Virginia)
Director of Public Relations/Marketing, élan communications, Pittsburgh, PA: 1999-2001
Client Associate, Burson-Marsteller, Pittsburgh, PA: 1998-1999
Project Manager/Senior Account Executive, William J. Green & Associates (public affairs/communications counseling agency), Pittsburgh, PA: 1993-1998
Courses Taught
STC 2520 Public Relations/Civic Responsibility
COM 564 Public Opinion through New Media
COM 1000 Communications in a Global Age
COM 110 Media Writing
COM 495 Capstone: International Public Relations
GBL 2400 Holocaust Journey
Publications
Selected recent publications:
Gaither, T. K. (2025). Corporate and organizational responsibility. In J. Doorley & H. F. Garcia (Eds.), Reputation Management: The Key to Successful Public Relations, Corporate Communication and Sustainable Organizations (5thed.). New York: Routledge.
Dashti, A. A., Gaither, T. K., Al-Kandari, A. A., Murad H. A., & Almutari, T. M., Alqahtani, R. (2023). Women’s activism as public relations in a patriarchal society: The case of Kuwait. Public Relations Review, 49(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102350
Al-Kandari, A. A., Gaither, T. K., Mubarak M. A., Dashti, A. A., & Alsaber, A. R. (2019). An Arab perspective on social media: How banks in Kuwait use instagram for public relations. Public Relations Review, 45(3).
Miller, B., & Gaither, T. K. (2016). “Marketplace Advocacy by the U.S. Fossil Fuel Industries: Issues of Representation and Environmental Discourse” Mass Communication and Society 2016 Special Issue: Climate & Sustainability Communication
Curtin, P. A., Gaither, T. K., & Ciszek, E. (2015). "Articulating the Conjunction of Public Relations Practice and Critical/Cultural Theory through a Cultural-Economic Lens.” In L’Etang, McKie, Snow, & Xifra (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Critical Public Relations. Routledge.
Gaither, T. K., & Al-Kandari, A. A. (2014). "The cultural-economic model and public relations in the Middle East: An examination of the Islamic banking system in Kuwait." Public Relations Review.Curtin, P. A., & Gaither, T. K. (2012, fall). “Globalization and Public Relations in Postcolonial Nations: Challenges and Opportunities.” Cambria Press.
Al-Kandari, A. A., & Gaither, T. K. (2011). “Arabs, the West and Public Relations: A Critical/Cultural Study of Arab Cultural Values.” Public Relations Review.
Gaither, T. K. (2008, spring). “Nation Branding, Propaganda, and Public Relations: An Analysis of English-Language Developing Country Head of State Web Sites.” Cambria Press.Curtin, P. A., & Gaither, T. K. (2008, spring). “International Public Relations: Negotiating Culture, Identity, and Power.” Sage Publications.
Professional Activities
Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations, Board of Advisors
Institute for Shipboard Education (Semester at Sea), Board of Trustees, 2015-2023
Arthur W. Page Society
Skills
Awards
2022 Finalist for PRNews Outstanding Educator of the Year Award
Phi Kappa Phi (Scholarly distinction)
Omicron Delta Kappa (Leadership)
Phi Eta Sigma (Honors)
ÁñÁ«app¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾Èë School of Journalism and Communications Scholarship Award as outstanding faculty researcher, 2007
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication Outstanding Graduating Ph.D. Student, 2004
Boy Scouts of America Eagle Scout