Michail Vafeiadis

Education

PhD, Pennsylvania State University

MA, Emerson College

MA, Suffolk University

BA, Suffolk University

About Me

Michail Vafeiadis is an associate professor of public relations and the associate director of the public relations program in the School of Communication and Journalism at Auburn University.

Vafeiadis' research agenda focuses on strategic communication, including corporate social responsibility, corporate reputation and relationship management, social media, and computer-mediated-communication.

Drawing on interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks, he is particularly interested in studying the psychological mechanisms through which consumers develop their attitudes and behaviors toward organizations in the corporate, nonprofit, and health sectors, as well as what type of strategic messages can result in relationship cultivation and maintenance.

His work has appeared in journals such as Public Relations Review, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Health Communication, Journal of Health Communication, Sustainability, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Journal of Promotion Management, among others.

Vafeiadis’ research grants include a grant from Pfizer to conduct a meta-analysis on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, and a grant from the Arthur W. Page Center Legacy Scholar Grants.

He has also served as the co-advisor of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) student chapter at Auburn University.

Vafeiadis is the 2016 recipient of the Don Bartholomew Award for Excellence in Public Relations Research sponsored by Ketchum and the Institute for Public Relations, and he has worked as a Predictive Analytics Fellow at Ketchum in New York City. He has also worked in the public relations industry in Europe. 

Research Interests

Social media, corporate social responsibility, health communication