Steve May

Associate Professor
Organizational Communication

Current Research:  Dr. May's research focuses on the relationship between work and identity, as it relates to the boundaries of public/private, work/family, and labor/leisure.  His research has explored the role of corporate counseling programs during organizational change and crisis, including downsizing, labor strikes, and accidents.  Most recently, he has studied the challenges and opportunities for organizational ethics and corporate social responsibility, including common ethical dilemmas and key practices of organizational ethics and corporate social responsibility.  

Recent Publications: 
May, S. K. (forthcoming). Activating ethical engagement in organizations. In  Lawrence Frey and Kevin Carragee (Eds.), Communication activism, volume 3. New York: Hampton Press.

May, S. K. (2009). Transforming the ethical culture of organizations. In J. Friedman (Ed.), Doing well and good:  The human face of the new capitalism (pp. 87-112). Charlotte, NC:  Information Age Publishing.

May, S. K. (2008). Reconsidering strategic corporate social responsibility:  Public relations and ethical engagement of employees in a global economy. In A. Zerfass, B. van Ruler, & K. Sriramesh (Eds.), (pp. 365-383). Public relations research:  European and international perspectives and innovations. Wiesbaden, Germany:  VS Verlag fur Sozialwissenschaften.

May, S. K., Cheney, G., & Roper, J. (Eds.). (2007). The debate over corporate social responsibility. New York:  Oxford University Press.

May, S. K. (Ed.), (2006) Case studies in organizational communication:  Ethical perspectives and practices. Thousand Oaks, CA:  Sage.

May, S. K., & Mumby, D. (Eds.), (2005). Engaging organizational communication theory and research:  Multiple perspectives. Thousand Oaks, CA:  Sage.

Current research projects include the following:

Cheney, G., Munshi, D., & May, S. K. (Eds.). (In progress). Handbook of communication ethics. To be completed for Routledge in 2009.

May, S.K. (In progress). Corporate responsibility: Vice or virtue? To be completed for Polity Press in 2010.

Ihlen, O., Bartlett, J., & May, S. K. (In progress). Communicating corporate social responsibility. To be completed for  Wiley-Blackwell in 2010.

May, S. K. (In progress). Work and identity in the new millennium.

May, S. K. (In progress).  The consultant's world:  Living on the edge of work.

Grant Funding:

Awarded a  grant from the Arthur W. Page Center for a project titled, Handbook of Communication Ethics, 2008.

Awarded a  grant from the Arthur W. Page Center for a project titled, Ethics at Work:  Principles and Practices of Ethics Codes, 2006.

Awarded a grant from the Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative to develop a first year seminar on organizational communication and social entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2005.

Awarded a grant from the Institute for Arts and Humanities at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for its Ethics Fellows Program, 2004.

Awarded a grant from the Institute for Arts and Humanities at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for its Leadership Fellows Program, 2002.

Awarded a grant from the Ueltschi Fellowship from the A.P.P.L.E.S. Service Learning Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for study and travel on university/community partner relationships, 2002.

Awarded a grant from the IBM Professional Development Fund at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2000.

Awarded a grant for Intellectual Life from the Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2000.

Awarded a grant from the Ueltschi Fellowship for the A.P.P.L.E.S.  Service-Learning Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1999.

Awarded a grant from the IBM Fund from the Office of the Provost at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, to study democratic representation in worker cooperatives, 1995.

Awarded a grant from The Institute for Research in Social Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study therapeutic discourse in organizations, 1994.

Courses Regularly Taught:
Undergraduate Courses:
Introduction to Organizational Communication
Organizational Communication
Organizational Ethics
Social Entrepreneurship

Graduate Courses:
Corporate Social Responsibility
Critical Perspectives in Organizational Communication
Seminar in Foucault
Business Ethics (MBA)

Future/Projected Courses:
Fall 2009:
Communication Studies 527 Organizational Ethics
Communication Studies 006  Social Entrepreneurship

Areas of Specialization: Organizational Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Work and Identity, Critical Organizational Theory

Honors:
Outstanding Book Awards, National Communication Association, Organizational Communication Division
Ethics Fellow, Parr Center for Ethics
Leadership Fellow, The Institute for the Arts and Humanities
Marriner S. Eccles Fellowship in Political Economy
Ned Brooks Award for Service-Learning    

Professional Service:
Editor – Journal

Management Communication Quarterly (Forum)

Associate Editor - Journals

Management Communication Quarterly
Journal of Business Communication
Communication Theory
Journal of Applied Communication Research

Community Service:
Professional Workshops Conducted - Organizational Communication Seminars: 

School of Medicine, Duke University
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
Andersen Consulting
Kenan-Flagler School of Business, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Professional Workshops Conducted – Ethics Training:

Price Waterhouse Coopers
Physician’s Leadership Institute    
Capitol Broadcasting Company
Boddie-Noel
Anthony Allenton Real Estate

Organizational Communication Facilitation:

Orange County Commissioners
Habitat for Humanity
Shaping Orange County’s Future Task Force
North Carolina Indian Affairs Commission
Governor's Task Force on Business Diversity
Triangle AIDS Organization Consolidation
Forum on Race, Poverty, and Inequality in the South