Dr. Wilcox is professor emeritus of public relations and former director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at San Jose State University. He is also the lead author of three textbooks published by Pearson Education, Public Relations Strategies & Tactics (12th edition), Public Relations Writing & Media Techniques (8th edition), and Think:Public Relations (2nd edition).
He is an accredited (APR) member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and also in the organization’s College of Fellows, recognizing his many contributions to the profession. Wilcox is also former chair of the PRSA Educator’s Academy and the public relations division (PRD) of the Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communications (AEJMC).
Among his many awards is PRSA’s “educator of the year,” the Xifra-Heras Award from the University of Girona (Spain), an award of excellence from the Public Relations Society of India (PRSI) and an honorary doctorate from the University of Bucharest (Romania) honoring his many contributions to global public relations education and the development of the profession.
Wilcox has been a Fulbright professor at the University of Botswana and a visiting professor at Queensland University of Technology (Australia), Rhodes University (South Africa), and Chulalongkorn University (Thailand). In addition, he has given invited presentations to students and professionals in such diverse nations as Latvia, Estonia, Serbia, Ukraine, Romania, Georgia, Chile, Argentina, India, and Costa Rica. He has also received several U.S. State Department grants to be a speaker-in-residence or conduct research in several nations.
Wilcox, who received his Ph.D. from the University Of Missouri School Of Journalism, is currently active in several public relations organizations, including the Arthur W. Page Society, a group of senior public relations executives. He continues to be involved in the public relations division of AEJMC by funding the Wilcox Awards to the top papers in teaching and research. He and his wife, Marianne, now travel extensively and his favorite quote is attributed to St. Augustine: “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page.” He can be reached at dennis.wilcox@sjsu.edu