Dr. Doug Swanson is an accredited public relations practitioner, teacher, and consultant. He worked for 12 years as a journalist in newspapers, radio, and television. He then transitioned to the dark side (aka public relations agency work) where he was a strategist, writer, and event planner. In addition to his media communication experience, Dr. Swanson has, at times, earned his keep as a retail manager, truck driver, door-to-door salesman, and janitor. For four years, he plied the waters of the Mississippi River as a deckhand and waiter aboard a paddlewheel steamboat.

Here on dry land, in 2011 Dr. Swanson developed capstone course COMM 474, otherwise known as PRactical ADvantage Communications, the Department of Communications student-run advertising and PR agency. It is among higher education’s largest student-run agencies, having graduated more than 1,000 COMM majors into the professional world.

Dr. Swanson has published numerous absorbing but mostly unnoticed book chapters and journal articles and presented a variety of fascinating but sparsely attended conference presentations. Much of his work lives in relative obscurity on the Internet. He is a graduate of the WASC Assessment Leadership Academy (Cohort IV) and is the author of the guide to developing, launching, and assessing the success of a college student-run agency:

Swanson, D. J. (2017). Real world career preparation: A guide to creating a university student-run communications agency. London: Peter Lang.

With COMM Professor Emerita Dr. Diane Witmer (APR, Fellow PRSA), he is co-author of the textbook used in capstone course COMM 464:

Witmer, D. F., & Swanson, D. J. (2020). Public relations management: A team-based approach (3 Ed.). Dubuque, IA: KendallHunt.

An avid traveler, Swanson has visited all 50 states, many of them in an overloaded RV packed with fidgety grandchildren, slobbering dogs, bicycles, yoga mats, and bowling balls. Despite a sometimes cluttered and disorganized life, Swanson agrees with the legendary writer Art Buchwald’s observation, “the best things in life aren’t things.”