Luke Capizzo Ph.D., APR

Assistant Professor

Department

Advertising + Public Relations

capizzol@msu.edu

Bio

Luke Capizzo (Ph.D., APR) is an assistant professor of public relations in the Department of Advertising + PR (College of Communication Arts & Sciences) at Michigan State University. Having earned his M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, he joined MSU in fall 2024 after five years on the tenure track—two years at the University of Missouri and three at James Madison University. A PR researcher, educator, and practitioner, his scholarly interests include (1) public relations and social issues management; (2) applied social impact—activism, DEI, dialogue, organizational listening, and sustainability/environmental justice; and (3) public relations pedagogy, profession, and research review scholarship. Broadly, his research examines the potential societal contributions of organizations through the public relations function. His peer-reviewed research has been published in multiple journals including the Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Public Relations Inquiry, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Corporate Communications: An International Journal, and Journal of Public Relations Education. He serves on multiple editorial boards including JPRR and PR Review, and as an associate editor for the Journal of Public Relations Education. His research has been funded as an Arthur W. Page Legacy Scholar (2020, 2022, 2023). He also has a book under contract with Routledge examining public relations and social impact.

Prior to earning his Ph.D., Capizzo practiced public relations at agencies and for statewide organizations in Michigan, with a focus on media relations, branding, and internal communication in the commercial real estate, financial services, manufacturing, retail, and technology industries. Dr. Capizzo drove strategic communication programs for a wide variety of clients including Fortune 50 companies, startups and advocacy organizations. He teaches across the undergraduate public relations curriculum, Advertising & Public Relations M.A. program, and the Information & Media Ph.D. program.

He is also the author of two textbooks (with Dr. Regina Luttrell of Syracuse University)—Public Relations Campaigns: An Integrated Approach, and The PR Agency Handbook, both published by Sage.

Related Work

Recent Publications

Capizzo, L., Nzau, T., Oduolowu, D., Duffy, M., & Brengarth, L. (2024). Permanent scars, improvisation and new paths forward: Communication agency leadership responses to COVID-19. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 29(3), 362-383.

Capizzo, L., Perryman, B. R., Nzau, T., & Ferguson, H. (2024). Diagnosing shared crises as acute intractability: Organizing crises and intractable issues in public relations theory. Public Relations Review, 50(1), 102427.

Page, T. G., & Capizzo, L. W. (2024). Toward a tent-driven model of organizations: Stakeholders, permeability, and multiple identities in public relations theory. Public Relations Review, 50(1), 102429.

Page, T. G., Capizzo, L. W., & Penning, T. (2024). A case for the plausibility of public relations licensing: The carrot of privileged communication. Public Relations Review, 50(1), 102408.

Yue, C. A., Zhou, A., Page, T. G., Morehouse, J., Capizzo, L. W., & Toth, E. L. (2024). The past, present, and future of internal communication in public relations: A computational review of the emerging literature. Journal of Public Relations Research, 1-27.

Page, T. G., Morehouse, J., Capizzo, L. W., Toth, E. L., & Zhou, A. (2024). To Share or Not to Share: Examining Social Media in Public Relations Scholarship. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 1-21.

Capizzo, L., Pevac, M., & Madden, S. (2023). It’s about (damn) time: Community, temporality, and feminist values in activist public relations history. Public Relations Review, 49(2), 102313.

Capizzo, L., & Sommerfeldt, E. J. (2023). Cultivating listening spaces for civil society: Reorienting public relations amid Hannah Arendt’s urgent pluralism. Public Relations Review, 49(4), 102351.

Capizzo, L., & Harrison, V. (2023). Theorizing CSA’s impact on nonprofit stewardship: New challenges for ethical corporate partnerships and issue engagement. Public Relations Review, 49(1), 102293.

Capizzo, L., & Iannacone, J. I. (2023). Citizen brand: The emergence of brandstanding as organizational engagement and civic duty. Public Relations Review, 49(2), 102307.

Contact Information

404 Wilson Rd, Room 373
Communication Arts and Sciences Building
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824