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Scott Farrell

​​​​Scott Farrell currently serves as a Visiting Industry Professional and Adjunct Instructor in the Public Relations and Advertising (PRAD) program at DePaul University. As part of the school’s College of Communication, the PRAD program was recognized as the 2022 Outstanding Education Program of the Year by PRWeek. He currently teaches Crisis Communications Management, a graduate-level course. 
 
Scott’s role at DePaul follows a 45-year public relations career in both agency and corporate settings. Most recently, Scott was Global President of Corporate Communications for Golin. He led many of the firm’s most prominent corporate communications engagements there.  
 
Over the course of his career, much of Scott’s work took place in the international arena, having implemented or directed campaigns in more than 30 countries around the world. He is also a leading expert in crisis communications and issues management and was named by PRWeek as a “crunch-time counselor” – one of the industry’s top people who should be on speed dial when crisis strikes. 
 
Scott joined Golin in 1997 to direct the Chicago office's corporate communications unit. Prior to that, Scott led corporate and consumer brand marketing communications engagements for Cohn & Wolfe's Chicago office. He also served as director of marketing services for Culligan International and spent 11 years with Burson-Marsteller in corporate and consumer communications work.  
 
Among the companies Scott has worked with are ADP, Capital Group, Chobani, Discover Financial Services, Dole Foods, GlaxoSmithKline, Humana, Hyatt Hotels, John Hancock Life Insurance, McDonald’s, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Micron, Nestle, Texas Instruments, The Dow Chemical Company, and Walmart. 
 
Scott is often quoted in articles on crisis management, has published articles in public relations and legal journals, and is a contributor to textbooks on the subject. He is a frequent lecturer on corporate reputation and crisis communication at DePaul University, Loyola University, and the University of Florida.   
 
Scott is a past president of the Chicago Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and is a member of PRSA’s Counselor’s Academy. He is a Trustee for the Institute for Public Relations. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for The Off the Street Club in Chicago and is the immediate past chair of the Board of Visitors for the University of Wisconsin’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications.