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About
Fall Open House
Join us for one of our Fall Open Houses and experience our beautiful, riverfront campus firsthand. Learn more about Marist’s academic experience, the admissions process, and get an inside look at life as a Red Fox! You'll have the opportunity to hear directly from students, faculty, and staff about what makes the Marist Community so special. Register Below:
About
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Academics
Fall Open House
Join us for one of our Fall Open Houses and experience our beautiful, riverfront campus firsthand. Learn more about Marist’s academic experience, the admissions process, and get an inside look at life as a Red Fox! You'll have the opportunity to hear directly from students, faculty, and staff about what makes the Marist Community so special. Register Below:
Academics
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Admission & Financial Aid
Fall Open House
Join us for one of our Fall Open Houses and experience our beautiful, riverfront campus firsthand. Learn more about Marist’s academic experience, the admissions process, and get an inside look at life as a Red Fox! You'll have the opportunity to hear directly from students, faculty, and staff about what makes the Marist Community so special. Register Below:
Admission & Financial Aid
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Student Life
Fall Open House
Join us for one of our Fall Open Houses and experience our beautiful, riverfront campus firsthand. Learn more about Marist’s academic experience, the admissions process, and get an inside look at life as a Red Fox! You'll have the opportunity to hear directly from students, faculty, and staff about what makes the Marist Community so special. Register Below:
Student Life
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Dr. Paul Koomson
Assistant Professor of Communication
Bio
Dr. Koomson is a teacher, interdisciplinary researcher, and strategic communicator. He has 20 years of experience in integrated marketing communications and media practice, as well as consulting. He has worked as a team lead on multiple national and international corporate, health, nonprofit, and development projects, some funded by the World Bank and USAID.
Paul merges insights from his communication practice and consulting with theory to help students become effective and responsible communication professionals.
Education
PhD, Communication and Media Studies, University of Oregon, 2023
MA, Communication Studies, University of Ghana, 2009
BA, English and History, University of Ghana, 2007
Research Interests / Areas of Focus
Strategic communication
Environmental health and social change communication
Political economy underlying the PR/advertising–journalism relationship
CSR communication
Selected Publications
Koomson, P. & Koomson, I. (2025). Toward vulnerability-responsive climate adaptation decision making: Group inclusiveness as prime driver of local participation. Climate and Development, 17(4), 369–382. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2024.2368173
Koomson, P. (2024). Involvement: A bidirectional perspective on participatory approaches for development and social change. Development in Practice, 34(8), 1058–1070. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2024.2354473
Koomson, P. & Ofori-Parku, S. S. (2024). Navigating public service and profit-making mandates: The case of the Daily Graphic newspaper. Journalism Studies, 25(4), 358–378. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2024.2305910
Koomson, P. (2024). Participating under constraints: Roles and limitations of rural women’s involvement in climate change adaptation planning and implementation in Ghana. Climate and Development, 16(6), 459–470. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2023.2236587
Ofori-Parku, S. S. & Koomson, P. (2023). Corporate sustainability as a hegemonic discourse of globalization: The discourse-historical approach as a critical issues and stakeholder analysis tool. Public Relations Review, 49(1), 102275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2022.102275
Koomson, I., Koomson, P., & Abdul-Mumuni, A. (2023). Trust in banks, financial inclusion and the mediating role of borrower discouragement. International Review of Economics & Finance, 88, 1418–1431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2023.07.090
Selected Presentations
Koomson, P., Ofori-Parku, S. S., & Botwe, K. (2025). 'How does "This Advert is FDA Approved" shape consumers' pain medicine decision making? An examination of unintended effects of regulator ad endorsement.’ 2025 Annual AEJMC Conference, San Francisco, CA. Top Paper (2nd Place) in the Advertising and Open Research Division
Ofori-Parku, S. S. & Koomson, P. (2024). "The early days of COVID-19 in the U.S.: a newspaper frame analysis." 74th Annual ICA International Conference, Gold Coast, Australia
Koomson, P. & Ofori-Parku, S. S. (2024). "Power perceptions and expressions as constraints and enablers of actors' roles in participatory climate adaptation planning." 74th Annual ICA Conference, Gold Coast, Australia
Koomson, P. (2023). "Toward vulnerability-responsive climate action: Communicative practices as prime driver of group inclusiveness and local participation." 73rd Annual ICA International Conference, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Koomson, P. & Ofori-Parku, S. S. (2023). "Journalism in chains: A survey of attitudes of Ghanaian journalists toward supplemental pay from corporate sources." 73rd Annual ICA International Conference, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Koomson, P. (2021). "Involvement: A bidirectional perspective on participatory development approaches for social change." IAMCR Conference, Nairobi, Kenya Koomson, P. & Ofori-Parku, S. S. (2020). "Public service mandate versus profit-making motive: A study of the Daily Graphic newspaper." AEJMC Conference, San Francisco, California
Koomson, P. (2020). "Assessing women's involvement in climate change adaptation project planning and implementation in Ghana." 70th ICA Annual Conference, Gold Coast, Australia. Top Paper in the Environmental Communication Division
Awards and Honors
- Top Paper Award (2nd Place), Advertising and Open Research Division, AEJMC, 2025
- Summer Research Stipend (Francis Marion University), 2024/2025
- Summer Research Stipend (Francis Marion University), 2023/2024
- Real Grant (experiential learning project to develop students’ research and writing skills), 2023/2024
- IT Grant (to procure digital instructional display for Mass Communication Dept., FMU), 2023/2024
- Anderson Family Fellowship for Journalism Ethics, School of Journalism and Communication, 2022
- David S Easly Graduate Scholarship, Division of Graduate Studies, University of Oregon, 2022
- Anderson Family Fellowship for Journalism Ethics, School of Journalism and Communication, 2021
- Lokey Scholarship, School of Journalism and Communication, 2021
- Franco Reis Graduate International Scholarship for 2020/2021 Academic Year, 2021
- Top Paper Award, Environmental Communication Division, ICA 2020 ICA Travel Grant, ICA and Environmental Communication Division of ICA (Awarded but Declined), 2020
- Columbia Scholarship, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, 2018 to 2022
- University of Oregon Graduate School Promising Scholar Award, 2018/2019