John Eighmey is an authority on commercial persuasive communication and has held senior, national-level positions in academics, business, and government.

On August 4, 2003, John Eighmey will join the faculty of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. He will be a Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication and holder of the Raymond O. Mithun Land Grant Chair in Advertising. His responsibilities will include teaching and scholarship in advertising.

Eighmey is currently serving on the National Academy of Science Committee on the Youth Population and Military Recruiting. This committee was established in January, 2000 at the request of the U.S. Department of Defense to examine the youth population and military recruiting policies and practices.

In January, 2003, The National Academies Press published a book written by the NAS Committee on the Youth Population and Military Recruiting. It is titled Attitudes, Aptitudes, and Aspirations of American Youth: Implications for Military Recruitment. The book can be read online at www.nap.edu/catalog/10478.html. The committee members are currently writing a book to be titled "Theory and Methods for the Evaluation of Military Advertising and Recruiting."

Eighmey's most recent publications are about user responses to commercial websites. "Profiling User Responses to Commercial Websites" was published in the May-June, 1997 issue of the Journal of Advertising Research. "Adding Value in the Information Age: Uses and Gratifications of Sites on the World-Wide Web" (co-authored with Lola McCord) was published in the March, 1998 issue of the Journal of Business Research.

He also wrote an opinion column on the need to more fully recognize and avoid inappropriate stereotyping in advertising that was printed in Advertising Age (see February 15, 1999, page 24).

From July, 1996 to August, 2003, Eighmey was a Professor of Journalism and Communication in the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University. During this time he also served as the founding director of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication. In his role as director of the Greenlee School, Eighmey led a successful $18 million fund-raising campaign for the School's development. In October, 2000, the ISU Provost recognized Eighmey with a "Visionary" award for "creativity in higher education" for his Vision 2020 Kellogg Foundation sponsored project to develop an educator network in Iowa to support journalism education in Iowa's 15 community colleges and 4-year colleges. In February, 2002, he was recognized as a "Friend of Iowa Newspapers" for his efforts encouraging the foundations of the three state supported universities in Iowa to provide more complete access to information concerning foundation records and activities. In June, 2003, the Iowa College Media Association established the John Eighmey Service Award to recognize individuals who advance journalism education in Iowa.

Prior to joining the faculty of Iowa State University, Eighmey was professor of advertising in the College of Communication at the University of Alabama. He has also been a faculty member at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, and at Notre Dame University in South Bend, IN.

From 1980 to 1989 he was a member of the senior management of the New York office of Young & Rubicam, one of the world's largest advertising agencies. At Y&R, he first served as Vice President and Director of Account Research Services. This position was first created and held by George Gallup. In 1984, Eighmey was promoted to Senior Vice President and Manager of Creative Services. In that position he was responsible for the 330-person creative and production departments at Y&R in New York. While working at Y&RNY, Eighmey also served as an adjunct associate professor of marketing at Wharton.

In 1976 and 1977, Eighmey served as Deputy Assistant Director for National Advertising (and manager of the advertising substantiation program) at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. Eighmey was awarded the Superior Service Award of the Federal Trade Commission for "unprecedented achievements in applying his learning and insights to all the programs of the Division of National Advertising." He was the first non-lawyer to hold a managerial position in the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Eighmey is a member of the editorial review boards of the Journal of Advertising Research and the Journal of Interactive Advertising. He served two three-year terms on the Accrediting Committee of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Eighmey holds a doctorate in Business Administration (Marketing) from the University of Iowa.

 

Back