April 3 

About the Lecture

The panelists will present and discuss their preliminary findings from studies they conducted on the state of teaching emerging technologies in PR higher education and how it meets or fails the needs of the PR profession. They will compare and contrast the familiarity and preparedness PR instructors have in teaching about emerging technologies in areas such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, machine learning, etc. The panelists will also discuss their findings from surveying industry professionals and what needs and expectations those stakeholders have regarding emerging technologies. Finally, they will discuss student perspectives about emerging technologies and its applications to the industry, including their attitudes toward, comfort with, and interests in learning these technologies 

About the Speakers 

Gregg Feistman is the Assistant Chair for Public Relations and a 20-year veteran of Temple. He teaches both undergraduate and graduate-level classes. His areas of interest include the impact of technology on the field of Communications, Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Social Activism, and Crisis Communication . 

Meghnaa Tallapragada (Ph.D.) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations in the Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University. Her research program on how communication can help bring sciences and technologies closer to its publics. More specifically, she studies (1) public perceptions of sciences and technologies, (2) public engagement between scientists, engineers, and publics, and (3) models of inclusion in STEM fields. 

Steve Ryan is a Certified Tech Nerd and has used every social media platform since Friendster. He also teaches PR at Klein College.