Faculty Profile for Dr. Nandini Bhalla

profile photo for Dr. Nandini Bhalla
Dr. Nandini Bhalla
Assistant Professor — School of Jrnlism & Mass Comm
phone: (512) 245-2656
Scholarly/Creative Work
Awards
Grants
Service

Biography Section

Biography and Education

 Born and brought up in Delhi, India, Dr. Bhalla earned her Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of South Carolina. Prior to earning her Ph.D., she earned a BSc. (H) Chemistry from the University of Delhi, MA in Mass Communication from Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi, and Post Graduate Diploma in Mass Communication with a specialization in PR from Indira Gandhi National Open University, also in Delhi. She has also earned Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management in Marketing from Symbiosis Insitute of Distance Learning, Pune, India. She has seven years of experience in media and communications in India. She has worked as both- a journalist and public relations consultant in government as well as private organizations in India.

Teaching Interests
- Foundations of PR Writing
- Advanced PR Writing
- PR research and theories
- Diversity in PR
- International PR
- PR Research

Research Interests

 Dr. Bhalla performs research in strategic communication with a focus on international communication and corporate social responsibility with an emphasis on social issues such as diversity and environmental activism. She is a Page Legacy Scholar and has presented over 30 peer-reviewed conference papers. She has received multiple awards for her research from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), International Public Relations Research Conference (IPRRC), Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Educators Academy, and National Communication Association (NCA).

In 2018, Dr. Bhalla was selected for the Inez Kaiser Graduate Students of Color Award from the Public Relations Division of AEJMC, the 2018 Moeller Student Competition Award from the Mass Comm & Society division, two Top Paper awards with the Magazine Division, Kappa Tau Alpha, and the Visual Communications Division, and the 2018 Peter Debreceny Corporate Communication Award at IPRRC. She also earned two highly competitive grants to support her dissertation on environmental issues and CSR: one from the University of South Carolina (2018), and a Page Legacy Scholar Grant from the Arthur W. Page Center (2018).

In 2020, Dr. Bhalla was selected for Doug Newsom Award for Global Ethics and Diversity from the Public Relations Division of AEJMC, the 2020 American University Top Diversity & Inclusion Award from PRSA Educators Academy, and the 2020 NCA Spiritual Communication Top Book Chapter Award.

Her research has appeared in various journals including Public Relations Review, International Journal of Strategic Communication, International Journal of Communication, Journal of Communication Inquiry, and Corporate Communications: An International Journal.

Selected Scholarly/Creative Work

  • Bhalla, N., & Kim, Y. (2023). LGBTQ Equality and Diversity CSR in India: Impact of CSR Levels and Role of Value-Based Attributions and Social Acceptance on Corporate Social Responsibility outcomes. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 17(4), 281–300. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2023.2231418
  • Kim, J., Overton, H., Carter, J., Alharbi, K., & Bhalla, N. (2023). Examining the psychological determinants of consumer support for corporate social advocacy. Corporate Communications: An International Journal.
  • Bhalla, N., & Rozelle, A. (2023). Eco-Tourism Campaigns as a Framework for Global PR Course. Journal of Public Relations Education.
  • Kim, Y., & Bhalla, N. (2022). A two-path model of the impact of LGBTQ+ diversity CSR levels on public response. Public Relations Review, 48(3). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2022.102203
  • Bhalla, N., & Overton, H. (2019). Examining cultural impacts on consumers’ environmental CSR outcomes. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 24(3).

Selected Awards

  • Award / Honor Recipient: Digital Ethnic Futures Consortium Scholar (DEFCon), Mellon Foundation. March 2023 - Present
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Kopenhaver Fellow, Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication in association with the AEJMC Commission on the Status of Women. August 2020 - Present
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Top Book Chapter Award, Spiritual Communication division, National Communication Association. November 2020 - Present
  • Award / Honor Recipient: American University Top Diversity & Inclusion Award, PRSA Educators Academy (virtual). October 2020 - Present
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Doug Newsom Award for Global Ethics and Diversity, Public Relations Division, AEJMC Annual Conference, San Francisco (virtual), CA. August 2020 - Present

Selected Grants

  • Bhalla, Nandini. AEJMC Graduate Student Travel Grant, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Private / Foundation / Corporate, $800. (Funded: 2018). Grant.
  • Bhalla, Nandini. Digital Ethnic Futures Consortium (DEFCon) Teaching Fellowship, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Private / Foundation / Corporate, $2500. (Funded: February 2024 - September 2024). Grant.
  • Bhalla, Nandini. Mini- course grant by Service Learning Excellence Program, Service Learning Excellence Program, Texas State University, Texas State University, $500. (Funded: January 2023 - May 2023). Grant.
  • Bhalla, Nandini (Principal). Community Based Learning (CBL), Washington and Lee University, Institutional (Higher Ed), $2000. (Funded: August 2020 - July 2021). Grant.
  • Bhalla, Nandini (Principal). Support to Promote Advancement of Research and Creativity (SPARC) Graduate Research Grant, University of South Carolina, Institutional (Higher Ed), $4011. (Funded: 2018 - 2019). Grant.

Selected Service Activities

Reviewer / Referee
Journal of Public Relations Research
2023-Present
Reviewer / Referee
Global Media Journal - Germany
September 2022-Present
Reviewer / Referee
International Journal of Business Communication
August 2022-Present
Reviewer / Referee
Journal of Communication Management
August 2022-Present
Reviewer / Referee
Sustainability
January 2022-Present