NATCHITOCHES – Dr. Paula Furr was inducted into the Southern Public Relations Federation Hall of Fame, an honor that recognizes “current and former southern practitioners or educators who have brought honor to the field of public relations.”
Furr retired in July as head of the Department of New Media, Journalism and Communication Arts at Northwestern State University, having served on faculty since 2000. She was nominated for induction by former students.
“Being inducted into the Hall of Fame was an honor of a lifetime. To know that students nominated me is equally gratifying and humbling. I have loved NSU’s focus on teaching and the reward of both teaching and learning from my students,” she said.
The induction took place at the Southern Public Relations Federations’ annual conference at the Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach, Alabama.
Furr was head of the Department of Journalism from 2005-2009, head of the Department of Language and Communication from 2012-14 and head of the Department of the Department of New Media, Journalism and Communication Arts from 2014-2019. Furr also served as department head for graduate programs in human development, adult education, counseling, educational leadership, educational technology and student affairs in higher education in NSU’s Gallaspy College of Education and Human Development.
Furr was advisor for NSU’s student radio station and student newspaper. As a member of NSU’s faculty, she has been credited with dozens of professional publications and presentations, including a number of international presentations and publications.
For six years, Furr was on the faculty of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in the Department of English as an instructor/executive officer, assistant professor/department executive officer and assistant professor/advanced composition course director.
Furr also served as command information officer for the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, command information officer/personnel officer at Fort McClellan, Alabama, 8th Infantry Division personnel officer in Baumholder, West Germany, and 4th Infantry Division protocol/personnel officer in Fort Carson, Colorado.
Before her tenure at NSU, she was a faculty member in journalism at Louisiana College and served as executive director of Ballet Alexandria.
Furr earned her bachelor’s degree at Ohio Wesleyan University, a master’s from the University of Kansas and a doctorate at NSU.
The Southern Public Relations Federation is a network of public relations professionals from Alabama, north Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi who share a common interest in the public relations profession.
Even in retirement, Furr is active as an educator. This fall she is teaching a dual enrollment class at Pineville High School.
