Leigh Woisard, Cox Communications, with Dr. Stephanie Smith, Virgina Tech University. Almost a decade ago, trustees of the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations began a conversation with our founder, Betsy Plank, about the need for equipping collegiate educators with greater knowledge and experience to help prepare students for the challenges public relation leaders face in their work. Our Plank Center Fellowship for Educators program was born of these discussions, and seven years later we’ve now placed 60 PR educators in summer assignments with 24 of the world’s great global corporations, agencies and not-for profit organizations.
The Plank Center’s mission is to help develop and recognize outstanding, diverse public relations leaders, role models and mentors to advance ethical public relations in an evolving, global society. Betsy Plank, known as the First Lady of Public Relations, had a life-long passion for matching educators and professionals so that both would grow together.
We designed the summer fellowship specifically for public relations educators with the dual purpose of exposing professors to current day-to-day operations of the public relations function and to help create an exchange of information and ideas that will enhance the professional development of both the educators and the practitioner-hosts.
As in past years, educators for 2016 spent two full weeks in the offices of the sponsoring organizations. During their period of service, they were given a full orientation to the sponsoring organization, a particular department or functional area, staff duties and responsibilities, clients and/or projects. Many worked side-by-side with host teams on corporate and client programs
A key facet of this program is the reciprocal nature of the fellowship: When the educator has completed their summer term, they will extend an invitation to their host/mentor to schedule time in 2016 on their college or university campus, during which the host/mentor will be asked to provide a lecture, have lunch or dinner with faculty, and meet with students.
Nine world-class public relations agencies and corporations stepped up to be hosts in 2016. Four public relations firms – Burson-Marsteller, Ketchum, Deveney Communications and WeberShandwick – were joined by five corporate hosts – American Airlines, General Motors, Home Depot, Cox Communications and Darden Restaurants. Burson-Marsteller, Ketchum, Deveney Communication, GM and Home Depot are all repeat hosts.
The educators selected from a field of more than 20 applicants and their host companies included:
- Dr. Chris Wilson, Assistant Professor, Department of Communications, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, who served at American Airlines, Dallas, Texas.
- Dr. Melissa Janoske, Assistant Professor, Department of Journalism, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tenn., who was hosted by General Motors, Detroit, Mich.
- Dr. YoungAh Lee, Assistant Professor - Public Relations, Department of Communication, Information & Media, Ball State University, Muncie, Ind., who served with WeberShandwick, New York, N.Y.
- Dr. Vanessa Murphree, Associate Professor - Public Relations, School of Mass Communication & Journalism, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Miss., who served with Home Depot, Atlanta, Ga.
- Dr. Brittany Rowe-Cernevicius, Assistant Professor - Public Relations, Department of English and Public Relations, Westminster College, New Wilmington, Pa., who was hosted by Deveney Communication, New Orleans, La.
- Dr. Nur Uysal, Assistant Professor - Strategic Communication, Diedrich College of Communication, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wis., who served at Ketchum's office in Chicago, Ill.
- Dr. Shelley Aylesworth-Spink, University of West London, London, United Kingdom, who served with Burson-Marsteller, New York, N.Y.
- Dr. Stephanie Smith, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, Va., who was hosted by Cox Communications, Atlanta, Ga.
- Dr. Donna Elkins, Professor, School of Communication, Spalding University, Louisville, Ky., who served with Darden Restaurants in Orlando, Fla.
I want to recognize the men and women who make this program happen each year: Drs. Bruce Berger and Karla Gower, University of Alabama; Dr. Diana Martinelli, University of West Virginia; and Professor Maria Russell, Syracuse University work together to identify and screen our educator applicants. I have the great pleasure of working with Dr. Gower, director of the Plank Center, and Ron DeFeo, American Airlines, to recruit our host companies.
We all should be very proud of a program that brings the Plank Center, as moderator, great visibility and recognition among world-class hosts and educators. It makes our profession better!
