The Communication of Spanish Public Universities: Current Situation and New Challenges

Abstract

This research tries to identify the issues and concerns of both the current academic research on communication management in the spanish public university and its professional practice. After a review of the specialized academic production in the last years, qualitative interviews have been carried out with the Communication Directors of public universities. Results show the absence of specific research on communication in public universities in Spain; at the same time on both academically and professionally levels is given excessive attention to pragmatic instrumental concerns. Therefore, it is identified the need to open a line of a critical-social and qualitative nature research; likewise, there is a new possibility of designing and developing an institutional communication for a social resignification of the public university in an active process of dialogue.