Toluwani C. Oloke, PhD
I study how strategic messages travel across cultures — and how public relations can serve public health, cultural understanding, and equity.
A scholar and practitioner working at the intersection of intercultural communication, global public relations, and health communication — grounded in African-centered strategic communication.
Communication is never neutral — it carries culture. My work asks how strategic messages can move across borders without losing the people they're meant to reach.
I'm an Associate Professor of Communication at the University of North Georgia, where I teach international public relations, PR writing, and social media, and co-direct SPRUNG, the university's student-run PR firm. My research and practice span intercultural communication, global public relations, and health communication.
Before the academy, I served as a Public Information Officer with the African Union Commission during the West African Ebola response, developing and co-managing multinational health campaigns that helped drive down infection and death rates. That experience — communicating across languages, cultures, and crisis — still anchors how I think about strategy, localization, and culturally responsive messaging.
Today I bridge scholarship and practice: synthesizing research into PR insight, building experiential learning for the next generation of communicators, and contributing to a growing body of African-centered strategic communication.
Three currents, one question
How does communication serve people across cultural, political, and public-health divides? Each area answers a piece of it.
Intercultural & Global PR
How multinational campaigns are localized — and mislocalized — as they cross cultural contexts. Building on the African Union's Ebola campaign, I examine the decision-making behind culturally responsive strategy.
Health Communication
Framing health advocacy for the communities it's meant to protect — from Ebola crisis response to cultural sensitivity in messaging around female health and morality in Nigeria.
PR Pedagogy
Teaching communication by doing it. I pioneered the Mimic Social marketing simulation for 200+ students and co-direct a student-run firm delivering real campaigns for real clients.
Publications & scholarship
Books, journal articles, chapters, and peer-reviewed conference work across public relations, health, and intercultural communication. Filter to explore.
No publications in this category.
Speaking & invited talks
Guest lectures, panels, and conference presentations across the US, Nigeria, and Japan — on intercultural communication, global public relations, and culturally responsive health messaging.
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Invited Presentation
Singing the Body, Policing the Soul: Orature, Female Health, and Morality in Nigeria
2025Lagos Studies Association 9th Annual Conference · Lagos, Nigeria -
Panel Presentation
Professors Take on "Pilot" Cross-Cultural Online Certificate Programs for Female Students, Bangladesh
2024Georgia Communication Association Conference · Demorest, GA -
Conference Presentation
Millennials' Pro-Environmental Attitudes and Actions: Psychological Proximity & Social Ties
2017International Communication Association, 67th Annual Conference · San Diego, USA -
Conference Presentation
The African Union Commission's Multinational Ebola Campaign & the Model for Localization
2016International Communication Association, 66th Annual Conference · Fukuoka, Japan -
Guest Speaker
The Impacts of Privilege, Marginalization, and Bias
2019Cultural Competence Institute · SUNY Fredonia, NY -
Facilitator
Lunch with The New York Times Series — on A.I., "Killer Robots," and its makers
2019SUNY Fredonia · Fredonia, NY
A path across the field
From crisis communication in Liberia to the classroom in Georgia — practice and scholarship, side by side.
Associate Professor of Communication
Launched the first-ever Mimic Social marketing simulation for 200+ students, developed a new international PR curriculum, and translate research into PR practice while advancing scholarship in health and global rhetoric.
Faculty Mentor & Assistant Firm Director, SPRUNG
Co-direct the student agency, guiding real-world campaigns for campus and community clients across media relations, social strategy, and client communication.
Assistant Professor of Communication
Built experiential learning for 200+ students, co-established SPRUNG, and pioneered adoption of social media simulation and AI-driven learning tools in the curriculum.
Assistant Professor of Communication
Devised new curriculum in international PR, digital advocacy, and health communication, and mentored students through internships and career development.
Instructor & PhD Research Assistant
Led six research projects on campaign localization, consumer trust, and pro-environmental attitudes — producing two journal articles, a book chapter, and three conference presentations.
Public Information Officer
Developed and executed two Ebola health campaigns while co-managing a $300K+ budget, contributing to a 60%+ drop in infection and death rates, and authored reports supporting the establishment of the Africa CDC.
Courses I teach
At the University of North Georgia, spanning the public relations sequence and foundational communication.
Education
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2018
Ph.D., Mass CommunicationPublic Relations & Health Communication · University of Florida
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2013
M.Sc., CommunicationIntegrated Marketing & Management Communications · Florida State University
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2013
Graduate Certificate, Project ManagementFlorida State University
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2007
B.A., English Language & LiteratureUniversity of Ilorin, Nigeria
Awards & affiliations
Honors
Professional affiliations
- African Public Relations Association (APRA) Fellow, 2026
- Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Atlanta, GA
- Georgia Communication Association Member
- Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication PR & Intl. Divisions
- International Communication Association (ICA) Member
Where the work lives
The universities, organizations, publishers, and journals behind two decades of study, practice, and scholarship.
University of FloridaPh.D. Mass Communication
Florida State UniversityM.Sc. · Grad. Certificate
University of IlorinB.A. English · Nigeria
University of North GeorgiaAssociate Professor
State University of New YorkFredonia · Asst. ProfessorUniversity of FloridaInstructor · Researcher
Florida A&M UniversityVisiting Instructor
African Union CommissionPublic Information Officer
Palgrave MacmillanPublisher
Peter LangPublisher
SUNY PressPublisher
Environmental CommunicationJournal · Taylor & Francis
Journal of Intercultural CommunicationJournal
African Public Relations AssociationFellow · f.APRA
Public Relations Society of AmericaMember · Atlanta
International Communication AssociationMember
AEJMCPR & International DivisionsGallery
Teaching, conferences, campaigns, and the community behind the work. Add your own photos to build the collection.
Let's talk communication across cultures.
Open to collaboration on research, speaking, curriculum, and strategic communication projects — from Georgia to the global PR community.