OU professor recognized with ‘Best PR for Good’ award by PRSA Detroit

Colleen Lafferty, visiting professor of advertising at Oakland University and owner at Maiorana+Partners, was honored with the “2025 Best PR for Good” award by the Detroit Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) during its annual meeting and celebration on Nov. 20 in Detroit.

Lafferty was recognized for transforming her class into a fully functioning agency and leading a campaign to support GRIZZ Recovery, OU’s Recovery Resource Center and student-led recovery community, which provides a safe and empowering space for students in, or seeking, recovery from substance use or other addictions. GRIZZ Recovery is partially supported by a grant from the Jamie Daniels Foundation and The Children’s Foundation.

“Students in Colleen’s class developed creative strategies to increase Grizz Recovery’s visibility through social media, brochures, and word-of mouth outreach,” said Chiaoning Su, an associate professor and director of the Public Relations and Advertising program at OU. “Their final presentation was so successful that it helped secure additional grant funding to support GRIZZ Recovery’s operations.”

OU Public Relations faculty members, GRIZZ Recovery Director Sarah Super, and Lafferty’s husband also attended the meeting to celebrate her achievement.

“It was an honor to represent Oakland University and to celebrate the incredible work of our students and the GRIZZ Recovery program” Lafferty said. “I’m so proud of what our class accomplished together, and grateful for the support of Chiaoning Su and Holly Shreve Gilbert (adjunct instructor of journalism at OU) throughout the semester.”

Allison Gavagan, a junior majoring in public relations and advertising at Oakland University, was also recognized during the meeting for her contributions to PRSA Detroit during her internship with the organization.

To learn more about the Department of Communication, Journalism and Public Relations at Oakland University, visit www.oakland.edu/cj.

For more information about GRIZZ Recovery, visit www.oakland.edu/oucc, or reach out to Sarah Super at [email protected] or [email protected].