Linda M. Hagan, Ph.D., joined Aquinas College, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in August
2018. She serves as a Professor and Chair of the Department of Business Administration.
Before joining Aquinas College, for 11 years, Dr. Hagan was a Professor of Marketing
at Walsh College as a Pro, a private nonprofit business college in Troy, Michigan.
She formerly was the Chair of the Business Communications Department and held the
position of Director of the Doctor of Management in Executive Leadership program at
Walsh College.
Before joining Walsh College as a Professor in August 2007, Hagan was an Assistant
Professor and Director of Off-Campus Programs in the Department of Advertising, Public
Relations, and Retailing in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences at Michigan
State University, in East Lansing, Michigan. She also has taught at the S.I. Newhouse
School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, New York, and at the University
of Maryland, College Park.
With over 15 years of corporate experience and consulting services, Hagan worked for
Volkswagen of America Inc., in Troy, Michigan, in corporate public relations and as
a district sales manager for Audi of America in San Francisco.
Hagan earned her Ph.D. in Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations and a
cognate in Strategic Management from the University of Maryland. Her doctoral dissertation
titled, "Public Relations, Relationships, and Reputation: A Case Study of a Safety
Recall in the U.S. Automotive Industry," focused on managing corporate crisis. She
earned a master's degree from the University of Arizona in Tucson, and a Bachelor
of Business Administration with a major in marketing from Eastern Michigan University
in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
Hagan's research interests, primarily specializing in qualitative research methods,
include integrated marketing communication, crisis communication, and reputation management.
Hagan regularly conducts workshops and writes articles on crisis communications, corporate
reputation management, and stakeholder relationships. She is Accredited in Public
Relations (APR) by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and is the co-chair
of the Ethics Committee of the PRSA Detroit Chapter. She also is a member of the American
Marketing Association and Inforum.
