Heidi Edwards

Ph.D.: University of Georgia
Master's degree: University of Wisconsin
Bachelor's degree: University of Florida

Heidi Hatfield Edwards is an assistant professor of communications. She teaches courses in public relations. She has nine years experience in communication, working in television, radio and print media, and in public relations and marketing.

Her research focuses on communication and social issues, with an emphasis in health communication. She approaches public relations from a rhetorical perspective and her research is influenced by reception studies founded in a cultural studies tradition. Much of her research utilizes qualitative methods such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, and participant observation.

Edwards earned her Ph.D. at the University of Georgia where she taught public relations communication and worked as a research assistant for the George Foster Peabody Awards. She has a B.A. from the University of Florida and an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a member of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the International Communication Association, and the National Communication Association.