University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Sifan Xu,
Ph.D.

Associate Professor & Graduate Program Coordinator
School of Advertising and Public Relations
College of Communication and Information

Advancing scholarship at the intersection of crisis communication, corporate social responsibility, and social identity — with a focus on community-based approaches and socially mediated public engagement.

865-974-5135
1345 Circle Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996
25+
Journal Articles
40+
Conf. Presentations
10+
Awards
6+
Years at UTK
Ph.D.
Univ. of Maryland, 2018
PRR/JPRR
Editorial Board Member
ICA/NCA
Multiple Top Paper Awards
NSF
Grant Applications
Scholarly Focus

Research Interests

Crisis Communication
Community-based approaches to crisis management — examining how communities bond, cope, and construct meaning during disasters and organizational crises.
Environmental CSR
Corporate social responsibility in the environmental domain — how organizations communicate purpose and impact to diverse, sometimes politically divided, stakeholder publics.
Social Identity
Identity-based frameworks for understanding organization-public relationships, including how identity salience and intergroup dynamics shape engagement and perceptions.
Social-Mediated Engagement
Digital public relations, media affordances, and social network analysis — how social platforms shape activism, polarized discourse, and organization-public interactions.
Academic Background

Education

Ph.D. · Communication (Public Relations)
University of Maryland, College Park
Dissertation: An Identity-Based Approach to Organization-Public Relationships and Interactions
Committee: Gregory Hancock, Brooke Fisher Liu, Anita Atwell Seate, Erich Sommerfeldt (Chair), Elizabeth Toth
2018
M.A. · Communication (Public Relations)
University of Maryland, College Park
2016
B.A. · Culture and Communication
University of International Relations, Beijing
2013
Scholarship

Publications

2024
You, L., Zhao, X., & Xu, S.
Public Relations Review, 50(2), 102451
2024
Zhao, X., Xu, S., & Austin, L. L.
New Media & Society, 26(5), 2492–2513
2024
Zhao, X., Ma, Z., Xu, S., & Austin, L. L.
Health Communication, 39(1), 62–72
2023
Cho, M., Xu, S., & Boatwright, B.
Public Relations Review, 49(2), 102295
2023
Xu, S., & Yue, C.
Journal of Applied Communication Research, 51(2), 204–223
2022
Zhao, X., Tsang, S. J., & Xu, S.
International Journal of Communication, 16, 2260–2282
2021
Zhou, A., & Xu, S.
Journal of Public Relations Research, 33(6), 445–463
★ Top Faculty Paper — ICA
2020
Xu, S.
Journal of Public Relations Research, 32(3–4), 120–139
★ Robert Heath Top Paper Award — ICA 2019
2020
Xu, S., & Zhou, A.
Computers in Human Behavior, 120, 87–96
2019
Madden, S., Brown, K., & Xu, S.
Journal of Public Relations Education, 5(2), 105–131
2018
Xu, S.
Public Relations Review, 44, 108–119
★ 1st Place Top Student Paper — ICA 2017
2017
Sommerfeldt, E. J., & Xu, S.
Chinese Journal of Communication, 10, 89–107
In Press
Affordance and social-mediated crisis communication
Xu, S.
In L. Austin & B. F. Liu (Eds.), Social Media and Crisis Communication (3rd ed.). Routledge.
In Press
Corporate social advocacy (CSA) and social network: Understanding CSA through intergroup dynamics and social networks
Xu, S.
In Y. Lee, J. Y. Li, & W. Tao (Eds.), Strategic Communication for Corporate Social Advocacy. Palgrave Macmillan.
2016
Public relations and development: Ethical perspectives on communication for societal effectiveness
Kennedy, A. K., Xu, S., & Sommerfeldt, E. J.
In B. R. Brunner (Ed.), The Moral Compass of Public Relations. Routledge.
2015
Legitimation strategies in radical activist issues management: Congressional testimony of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP)
Sommerfeldt, E. J. & Xu, S.
In R. D. Waters (Ed.), Public Relations in the Nonprofit Sector: Theory and Practice (pp. 185–202). Routledge.
September 2025 · EUPRERA Congress, Lund, Sweden
How companies communicate social responsibility, impact, and purpose: Evidence from top S&P 500 companies' communications
Xu, S., Chang, B., & Kim, K.
June 2025 · ICA, Denver, CO — Public Relations Division
Implications of intergroup dynamics on organization-public outcomes: An identity and intergroup perspective
Xu, S.
June 2025 · ICA, Denver, CO — Public Relations Division
Consolidating CSR and CSA quantitative research in public relations through a network analysis of theoretical variables
Xu, S., & Luttman, S.
August 2024 · AEJMC, Philadelphia, PA — Communicating Science, Health, Environment, Risk Division
Convergence and social media use in risk perception: An investigation on both central tendency and dispersion
Xu, S., & Zhao, X.
June 2024 · ICA, Gold Coast, Australia — Public Relations Division
Stakeholder analysis for strategic communication: Using computational text analysis of qualitative data
Xu, S.
August 2023 · AEJMC, Washington D.C. — Public Relations Division
How political ideology affects the communication of organizational relations: A social network approach
You, L., Zhao, X., & Xu, S.
May 2023 · ICA, Toronto, Canada — Computational Methods Division
A temporal approach to online discussion during disasters: Applying SIR infectious disease model to predict topic growth and examining effects of temporal distance
Xu, S., Zhao, X., & Chen, J.
March 2023 · International Public Relations Research Conference, Orlando, FL
Keeping employees during the great resignation: The impact of leadership communication on newcomer adjustment, well-being, and employee-organization relationships
Cen, Y., Xu, S., Wei, T., & Huang, V.
November 2022 · NCA, New Orleans, LA — Public Relations Division
Connecting issues, CSR, and OPRs: Unpacking identity mediators of the effect of CSR on relationship and the moderating role of intergroup dynamics
Xu, S.
★ 2nd Place Top Faculty Paper Award — NCA PR Division
May 2022 · ICA, Paris, France — Mass Communication Division
Who influences whom? Time series analysis on COVID digital news coverage, tweets volume, and crisis severity
Xu, S., & Cen, Y.
May 2022 · ICA, Paris, France — Information Systems Division
How information repertoire affects vaccine hesitancy: Processes of information verification and cognitive elaboration
Zhao, X., Ma, Z., Xu, S., & Austin, L.
May 2022 · ICA, Paris, France — Mass Communication Division
Medium and source convergence in crisis information acquisition: Patterns, antecedents, and outcomes
Zhao, X., Xu, S., & Austin, L.
November 2021 · NCA, Seattle, WA — Mass Communication Division
An ecological and dynamic convergence framework for disaster and emergency communication
Xu, S., & Zhao, X.
September 2021 · IEEE ISPA-BDCloud-SocialCom-SustainCom
Using content analysis and machine learning to identify COVID-19 information relevant to low-income households on social media
Khanal, S., Refati, R., Glandt, K., Caragea, D., Xu, S., & Chen, C. F.
August 2021 · AEJMC, New Orleans, LA — Communicating Science, Health, Environment, Risk Division
Embedded contexts and multilayered interactions: User comments and interactions analysis on YouTube related to climate change
Xu, S., Kochigina, A., & Luttman, S.
May 2021 · ICA, Denver, CO — Organizational Communication Division
Key players in CSR institutionalization: An interorganizational network investigation through Fortune Global 500 companies' CSR reports
Xu, S., & Woo, D. J.
May 2021 · ICA, Denver, CO — Public Relations Division
Is mediated dialogue dead yet? How media affordances affect organization-public relationship building
Zhou, Y., & Xu, S.
★ Top Faculty Paper — ICA PR Division
May 2021 · ICA, Denver, CO — Public Relations Division
Motivated responsibility attribution in pandemic: An integrated framework of antecedents, processes and outcomes
Zhao, X., Tsang, S. J., & Xu, S.
August 2020 · AEJMC, San Francisco, CA — Public Relations Division
Effects of narratives on individuals' skepticism toward corporate social responsibility efforts
Xu, S., & Kochigina, A.
August 2020 · AEJMC, San Francisco, CA — Public Relations Division
CEO activism & employee relations: Factors affecting employees' sense of belonging in workplace
Cho, M., Xu, S., & Boatwright, B.
July 2020 · Sunbelt Conference, INSNA, Paris, France
Seeking like-minded people: Twitter users' homophily based on ideological hashtags
Xu, S.
May 2020 · ICA, Gold Coast, Australia — Environmental Communication Division
Networked publics in #NoDAPL protests: Interactions among activist publics and influence of locality and proximity on socially mediated networks
Xu, S., & Luttman, S.
May 2020 · ICA, Gold Coast, Australia — Public Relations Division
Threat and consumer behavior: Effects of threat on consumers' engagement with corporate social responsibility
Xu, S., & Cho, M.
May 2020 · ICA, Gold Coast, Australia — Public Relations Division
Is telling a story better? Effects of narrative engagement on CSR skepticism
Kochigina, A., & Xu, S.
November 2019 · NCA, Baltimore, MD — Public Relations Division
A topic modeling approach to examining Twitter users' discourses and reactions to cause-related marketing
Xu, S., & Xiong, Y.
May 2019 · ICA, Washington, D.C. — Public Relations Division
Remaking dialogic principles for the digital Age: The role of affordances in dialogue and engagement
Zhou, A. Y., & Xu, S.
★ Top Faculty Paper — ICA PR Division
May 2019 · ICA, Washington, D.C. — Public Relations Division
Issues, identity salience, and organization-public interactions: An identity-based approach
Xu, S.
March 2019 · International Public Relations Research Conference, Orlando, FL
When environmental issues are political: Effects of political identity salience and organization's environmental communication on public engagement
Xu, S.
November 2018 · NCA, Salt Lake City, UT — Public Relations Division
Bigger playground, better dialogues? A large-scale examination of corporate Twitter communication in the 280-character era
Zhou, A. Y., & Xu, S.
★ 1st Place Top Student Paper — NCA PR Division
May 2018 · ICA, Prague, Czech Republic — Public Relations Division
Catching up on crisis: Effects of crisis attributes on emotions and information channel preferences
Xu, S., & Yue, C.
May 2018 · ICA, Prague, Czech Republic — Public Relations Division
Crisis communication within a community: Bonding, coping, and making sense together
Xu, S.
November 2017 · NCA, Dallas, TX — Interpersonal Communication Division
Questioning my love is questioning my face: An analysis of facework strategies by interracial and interethnic couples in Taiwan
Chien, H. Y., & Xu, S.
May 2017 · ICA, San Diego, CA — Public Relations Division
We won't if you won't damage the relationship: The investment model in organizational crises for (re)building relationships
Xu, S.
★ Top Student Paper — ICA PR Division
May 2017 · ICA, San Diego, CA — Public Relations Division
Discourse of renewal: Developing multiple-item measurement and analyzing effects on relationships
Xu, S.
★ 1st Place Top Student Paper — ICA PR Division
November 2016 · NCA, Philadelphia, PA — Public Relations Division
When identity becomes salient and connected to the organization: We are in this together
Xu, S.
November 2016 · NCA, Philadelphia, PA
Making a "difference" with digital media? The evaluation perspectives, practices, and challenges of Chinese NGOs
Sommerfeldt, E. J., & Xu, S.
August 2016 · AEJMC, Minneapolis, MN
Empowering the future practitioner: Postmodernism in the undergraduate public relations classroom
Madden, S., Brown, K., & Xu, S.
April 2016 · Eastern Communication Association, Baltimore, MD — Organizational Communication Interest Group
A societal turn for organizations: Unpacking societal dimensions of public relations strategy
Xu, S.
November 2015 · NCA, Las Vegas, NV — Public Relations Division
Empowering them is empowering us: Activist public relations from a non-system perspective
Xu, S.
★ Top Student Paper — NCA PR Division
November 2015 · NCA, Las Vegas, NV — Public Relations Division
A voice unheard: Community building of international students in crises
Xu, S.
August 2015 · AEJMC, San Francisco, CA — Public Relations Division
Public relations as development communication? Conceptual overlaps and prospects for a societal paradigm of public relations
Brown, K., Fowler, B. M., Guo, J., Sommerfeldt, E. J., Tills, C., & Xu, S.
May 2015 · ICA, San Juan, Puerto Rico — Public Relations Division
Risk amplification from an intercultural perspective
Xu, S.
May 2015 · ICA, San Juan, Puerto Rico — Public Relations Division
Strategy of outlaw discourse in building civil society
Xu, S.
November 2014 · NCA, Chicago, IL — Public Relations Division
A case study: Symbiotic relationship between actional legitimacy and corporate social responsibility
Xu, S.
Recognition

Awards & Honors

2023
Faculty Research Award
College of Communication and Information, University of Tennessee Knoxville
2022
Top Faculty Paper — 2nd Place
Public Relations Division, National Communication Association
2021
Top Faculty Paper
Public Relations Division, International Communication Association
2021
Dean's Summer Research Support ($1,200)
College of Communication and Information, University of Tennessee Knoxville
2020
Best Poster Presentation
42nd Annual Research Symposium, College of Communication and Information, UTK
2020
Dean's Summer Research Support ($1,000)
College of Communication and Information, University of Tennessee Knoxville
2019
Top Faculty Paper / Robert Heath Top Paper Award
Public Relations Division, International Communication Association
2019
Dean's Summer Research Support ($1,500)
College of Communication and Information, University of Tennessee Knoxville
2018
Top Student Paper
Public Relations Division, National Communication Association
2017
2 Top Student Papers · Summer Research Fellowship ($5,000)
ICA PR Division · Graduate School, University of Maryland
2015
Top Student Paper · ARHU Travel Award
NCA PR Division · College of Arts and Humanities, University of Maryland
2013
Merit Fellowship · Distinguished Senior Thesis
Department of Communication, UMD · University of International Relations
2011–2012
Departmental Scholarship · Outstanding Student Award
Department of Culture and Communication, University of International Relations
Pedagogy

Teaching Experience

Graduate Courses — UTK
CCI 644
Quant. Comm and Inf Res. II Computational Social Science
2026
PBRL 530
Issues and Crisis Management
2023–2026
PBRL 516
PR Publics, Activism, & Social Change
Fall 2022
ADPR 541
Strategic Communication Tactics
(Asynchronous Online — Course Developer)
2021–2022
Undergraduate Courses — UTK
PBRL 370
Public Relations Cases
2019–2025
PBRL 420
Advanced Public Relations Writing
2018–2024
Courses — University of Maryland
COMM 498D
Nonprofit PR, Activism & Issues Management (Online)
Summer 2017
COMM 353
New Media Writing
2016–2018
COMM 107
Oral Communication Principles and Practice
2013–2018
COMM 298P
Introduction to Public Relations (TA)
Fall 2015
Students Mentorship
Ph.D. Level
Advisor
Yidan Zhang
2025-present
Ph.D. Level
Dissertation Committee Member
Curry Wilson, Shelby Luttman
2024–2025
M.S. Level
Graduate Advisor
9 master's students, 2024–2025
Active
Thesis Cmte.
20+ thesis project committees
across UTK graduate programs
2019–2024
Community & Profession

Service

Editorial Boards
Public Relations Review — Board Member (2023–present)
Journal of Public Relations Research — Board Member (2021–present)
Journal of World Business — Board Member (2018–present)
Guest Editor — Purpose-Driven PR Special Issue, Public Relations Review (2025)
J. of International Crisis & Risk Communication Research (2018–2020)
Journal Reviewing
Public Relations Review · J. of Public Relations Research
J. of Communication Management · Management Communication Quarterly
Human Communication Research · Communication Research
New Media & Society · Social Media and Society
Environmental Communication · Mass Communication & Society
J. of Business Research · J. of Advertising Research
Corporate Communications: An International Journal
International Journal of Strategic Communication
Grant Proposal Reviewer — Arthur W. Page Center (2020–2021)
Conference Leadership
Chair — Issues Management, Lobbying & Public Affairs, ICA 2025
Chair — AI & Social Media: Questions for PR, ICA 2024
Chair — Engagement, Authentic Communication & Network Perspectives, NCA 2022
Reviewer: ICA (2015–2024), NCA (2014–2024), AEJMC (2019–2024)
Selection Committee Member, NCA PR Division (2021–2022)
Pride Committee Member, NCA PR Division (2019–2020)
University & School
Graduate Council — UTK (2024–2025)
Graduate Council Appeals Committee (2024–2025)
Graduate Studies Committee, CCI (2024–2025)
Undergraduate Research Advisory Council (2023–2025)
CCI Technology Committee (2019–2024)
Chair — Faculty Search Committee, AP of Practice in PR (2024)
ADPR Scholarship Committee (2022–2024)
Junior Faculty Fellows Advisory Council (2020–2021)
Get In Touch

Contact

Phone
865-974-5135
Mailing Address
1345 Circle Park Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996
Department
School of Advertising & Public Relations
College of Communication & Information
University of Tennessee, Knoxville