Senior Lecturer
Teaches IMC 636 Campaigns (Provided Client)
Mitchell Friedman, EdD, APR develops people. Known as an enthusiastic, energetic, and insightful educator and consultant, he relishes opportunities to help others to develop their skills and abilities on the path to achieving their full potential.
Dr. Friedman teaches leadership, management communication, organizational behavior, and public relations at the Naval Postgraduate School, St. Mary’s College of California, and University of San Francisco, in addition to West Virginia University. He also helps a range of organizations to develop the communications and leadership skills of their employees.
Dr. Friedman holds two degrees in history, specifically, Modern European History: a BA from Brandeis University, and an MA from Stanford University. His initial career goal was to become a history professor. His undergraduate thesis explored technological change in the 19th century British Navy. His master's thesis looked at changing currents in French Catholic antisemitism in the late 19th century.
After earning his master's degree, he held administrative and program management positions with The Junior Statesmen Foundation. He then began his career in public relations, which spanned three decades and included agency, in-house, and independent consulting work with high technology, real estate, finance, non-profit, and other clients. He earned the Accredited in Public Relations (APR) designation in 2000.
In addition to his public relations consulting work, he develops and delivers training programs to help participants build skills in giving presentations; listening; handling media interviews; and cultivating relationships with clients, among many other topics. Most recently, he developed and delivered webinars on topics such as crisis management and communication; dealing with passive aggressive behaviors in the workplace; getting things done when you’re not the boss; and how to make the most of networking and professional development opportunities, among others.
In 2007 he returned to school to earn an EdD in Organization and Leadership at University of San Francisco, as he aspired to transition from public relations into full-time employment in higher education. His doctoral dissertation looked at leadership development among undergraduate public relations students, which was subsequently published as an article in a refereed journal. That same year he landed his first administrative position as director of Career Services for the MBA program at University of San Francisco, which was followed by a position as associate dean of Student Affairs and Career Development at Presidio Graduate School.
Dr. Friedman taught his first university class in 1998 and has taught both as an adjunct and full-time faculty since then. His courses cover public relations, management communication, leadership, and organizational behavior.