Geah Pressgrove, Associate Professor of Advertising and Public Relations at the WVU College of Creative Arts and Media, recently received national recognition and a university-wide honor for her dedication to students and the community.
Pressgrove was selected for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s 2025 Dorothy Bowles Award for Outstanding Public Service, which will be presented at the AEJMC Annual Conference in August. The award, which includes a plaque and a $1,000 cash prize, recognizes an AEJMC member with a significant public service record of connecting academics and mass communications professionals.
Pressgrove was nominated for the award by WVU College of Creative Arts and Media Vice Dean Diana Martinelli and received letters of support from Tara Curtis, director of communications, marketing and technology for the WVU Division for Land-Grant Engagement, and Natalie T.J. Tindell, Director of the University of Texas Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations.
“She finds creative and innovative solutions to problems facing the Public Relations Division, and she leads from a place of grace and authenticity. She is eager to be of service and highlight the voices of those who are not often seen and heard in the body of scholarship or academic leadership,” Tindell wrote to AEJMC’s selection committee.
Pressgrove was also recently selected for the 2025 West Virginia University Faculty Award for Excellence in Community Engagement. The award recognizes a WVU faculty member who continuously embodies the core values of the university: service, curiosity, respect, accountability and appreciation. The faculty member must also demonstrate a commitment to serving and engaging the greater university community.
“Dr. Pressgrove’s unwavering commitment to public service, mentorship and professional engagement makes her a distinguished candidate for these awards,” Martinelli said. “Her leadership, scholarship and advocacy have significantly impacted her students, professional organizations and communities throughout West Virginia.”
Pressgrove frequently provides expertise in mass communications to support university, state and national initiatives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pressgrove co-led a research team that made data-driven messaging recommendations to West Virginia state leaders for the release of accurate, timely and effective vaccine information. She has also served as a subject matter expert for a CDC-funded initiative to recruit and retain a diverse public health workforce.
Pressgrove provides training for farm-based businesses to increase regional awareness of agritourism in West Virginia and has aided the West Virginia Department of Education in several public awareness campaigns.
“I believe that real progress happens when we bring together different voices — students, educators, media professionals and community partners who are making a real difference in West Virginia,” Pressgrove said. “Building these bridges creates opportunities to empower students to become active, engaged citizens who contribute to the world around them. By working together, we open possibilities that none of us could achieve alone. This spirit of shared purpose is not just important; it is essential for fulfilling our land-grant mission.”
Pressgrove is the faculty advisor for the award-winning WVU chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America. Along with guiding Advertising and Public Relations students, she has been published in Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Journal of Promotion Management, and Journal of Applied Communication Research. Pressgrove has a Ph.D. in mass communications from the University of South Carolina and has more than 15 years of professional agency and freelance experience working with diverse clients including nonprofits, foundations, corporations, entertainment properties, municipal governments, political campaigns and healthcare organizations.
For more information about the AEJMC awards, visit community.aejmc.org. To learn more about WVU’s Excellence in Community Engagement Awards, visit communityengagement.wvu.edu.