Timothy Penning, Ph.D., is a former journalist and public relations professional who is now a professor teaching classes in public relations. He wrote a column for more than 20 years in the Grand Haven Tribune.
He has written four professional/academic books, including Media Relations Writing, Corporate Communications Writing, Public Relations: A Management Function, and Public Relations Theory in Practice: Strategic Applications for Professionals. He has contributed chapters for several books, including Public Relations Theory and Practice in the Nonprofit Sector and the Handbook of Investor Relations and Financial Communications. He has published in various journals, including the Journal of Communication Management, Public Relations Review, Public Relations Journal, and Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly. He has also published two books of collected newspaper columns: Thoughts on Thursdays and Dining in T-Shirts.
He has worked as a staff writer and assistant editor for Traverse Magazine and a reporter for Advance Newspapers. Following his career in journalism, Dr. Penning was communications director for an international mission agency, media relations manager for a regional state university in the Midwest, and public relations director for a community foundation.
He was won several awards for his public relations work and research and was named “Distinguished Practitioner” by the West Michigan Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America in 2001, 2005 and 2014. He is active with the Public Relations Society of America, having served as president of the West Michigan chapter in 2004 and on its board for seven years. He also advised the GVSU student chapter of PRSSA for 12 years. In 2018 he was named a member of PRSA’s College of Fellows and to the prestigious Arthur W. Page Society. He is a member of the Global Strategic Communication Consortium (GSCC). He is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi National Honors Society and the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Society.
Dr. Penning has a B.A., Journalism, Central Michigan University; M.A., Organizational Communication, Western Michigan University, and a Ph.D. in Media and Information Studies from Michigan State University.