Dr. Downes holds a broad view of public relations education, promotes interdisciplinary scholarship, and teaches classes favoring intellectual as well as practical training. He has taught 5,019 students, working on six continents, through the 237 courses; delivered 43 academic presentations in ten countries; done administrative/humanitarian work in China, Haiti, and Honduras; and advised 59 independent studies and graduate theses/creative projects.
He is an affiliate to the College of Communication’s Doctoral Program in Emerging Media Studies; directs the Master’s in Advertising Program at Boston University’s Metropolitan College; is a fellow in College’s Communication Research Center; and completed the Future of the Professoriate Program. He has received “Outstanding Service,” “Professor of the Semester,” and “Lyndon Baines Johnson Advisor of the Year” awards, and for 14 years he was a member of the University’s Faculty-in-Residence program.
He received “top paper” awards from three international conferences’ public relations/political communication divisions and has published his research in five academic journals. A final manuscript his book, The Politics and PR of Capitol Hill’s Image Makers: The Role of the Congressional Press Secretary, is under review by Bloomsbury Publishing.
Prior to joining academia, upon graduating from college, he was awarded a Lyndon Baines Congressional Internship on Capitol Hill. For the next ten years--throughout metropolitan Washington, D.C. working in all three sectors (private, public, and nonprofit)--he held positions ranging from public relations director and marketing representative to personnel specialist and campaign organizer. Among his employers were the United States Congress, two international trade associations, CapitalCare (a subsidiary of Blue Cross/Shield), and The Wonder Company (a special events firm).
He has served as a speaker for multiple organizations, among them: the Public Relations Society of America, the United Way, Harvard University’s Medical School, the Publicity Club of New England Masters’ Institute, Boston Women Communicators, the National Association of Governors’ Councils on Physical Fitness and Sports, et al.
Pre-Conference Workshop: The Platform Society: Ten Key Insights on Its Global Influence
Date: May 28, 2025 PM-
Venue: TBC
Presentation Details:
Following a brief introduction, the 10 questions below will be addressed in order. Each answer will emerge from the nexus where “scholarly/intellectual/theoretical principles” intersect with “professional/applied/industry-based practices.” The answers will progressively build a collective understanding of the evolution of a “platform society.”
1. What are the consequences of attending (only?) to media presentations that reinforce our already-held beliefs?
2. How has the rise of social media spread divisive politics?
3. Is “public relations ethics” an oxymoron?
4. How should we respond to the profound changes “wrought” on long-established social institutions?
5. How are the seminal ingredients for effective promotional campaigns (i.e., research, planning, implementation, and evaluation)--taught to students and applied throughout industry for decades--changing?
6. When are the “systematic, controlled, objective” procedures which guide “empirical inquiry” actually carried out as advocacy-based processes intended to support political positions?
7. What value do politicians’ “image makers,” working behind-the-scenes, add?
8. What first-time ontological/phenomenological changes are occurring in communication management processes and purposes?
9. What is going on with that device attached to your hip? (That is: What are the downfalls of mobile device dependency?)
10. Who defines “fake news”?
The presentation will conclude with a brief commentary on a collective theme informed by the answers to all ten questions.