Jeanne Persuit

Jeanne M. Persuit, Ph.D. is a Professor of Communication Studies and Director of the M.A. Integrated Marketing Communication program. Dr. Persuit teaches courses in integrated marketing communication, public relations, advertising, and communication ethics. Her research area is the rhetoric and philosophy of integrated marketing communication and communication ethics. She is the editor of the Integrated Marketing Communication Series, published by Lexington Books/Rowman & Littlefield. Dr. Persuit is the author of Social Media and Integrated Marketing Communication (Lexington Books, 2013). She also serves as the Director of Marketing & Communication for the National Treatment Court Resource Center, housed at UNCW, and funded by a $1.6 million U.S. Department of Justice grant. Before returning to Duquesne University for her Ph.D., Dr. Persuit worked in integrated marketing communication in the consulting engineering field and was a marketing communications manager for a Fortune 500 manufacturing company. She is co-advisor of Pier 601 Creative, a student-run integrated marketing communication agency.

Education

Ph.D. in Rhetoric, Duquesne University
M.A. in Corporate Communication, Duquesne University
B.S. in French-Technical Writing and Translation, The Pennsylvania State University

Specialization in Teaching

Dr. Persuit has created opportunities for students to work with non-profit and government clients. She co-founded Pier601 Creative, the student-run firm in the Department of Communication Studies, in 2014. This full-service creative firm provides video/podcast production, IMC strategy/planning, social media content creation, graphic design/web design services to clients. She is the founding director of the M.A. IMC program, an online accelerated program with across North Carolina, that launched in 2019.

Research Interests

Dr. Persuit’s research focuses on the integrated marketing communication of institutions (higher education, government, and non-profits) and applied/experiential learning strategies in IMC at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In addition, she has published on the intersection of IMC/branding and crisis/risk communication and the rhetoric of women’s leadership, and how social movements are branded and communicated. She serves as the Director of Marketing & Communications for the National Treatment Court Resource Center, housed at UNCW and funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Professional Service

Dr. Persuit is currently President of the Eastern Communication Association, the oldest communication association in the U.S. She has served as a UNC Faculty Assembly Delegate and as Vice-President of the UNCW Faculty Senate.

Community Engagement

Dr. Persuit has planned the biennial UNCW Integrated Marketing Communication Conference, held in downtown Wilmington, since 2011.

Honors & Awards

UNCW James F. Merritt $5 Million Club, 2024
UNCW Research Collaboration Award, 2023
UNCW James F. Merritt $1 Million Club, 2021
UNCW Alumni Association Dr. J. Marshall Crews Distinguished Faculty Award, 2018
UNCW Fraternity/Sorority Life Faculty Member of the Year, 2011 and 2012
UNCW Discere Aude Award, 2010