News Story

Students explored a variety of interests in the field of public relations early this month at the national conference of Public Relations Student Society of America, where the Media School’s public relations program was recertified by the professional Public Relations Society of America.

Fifteen members of the Beth Wood Chapter of PRSSA at Indiana University attended the organization’s national conference in Atlanta Nov. 6-10.  Dean James Shanahan and Emily Harrison, director of development and alumni relations, traveled to Atlanta to receive the recertification honors.

“It’s an important distinction for prospective students looking at PR programs and for employers looking for their next hires,” Harrison said.

The school’s public relations program was first certified in 2008 and is one of 37 undergraduate programs in the world to be awarded the Certification in Education for Public Relations.

The recertification process began last spring. PRSA sent two members of its Educational Affairs Committee to take a close look at the undergraduate program.

John Paluszek of the agency Ketchum and Steve Iseman, Professor Emeritus at Ohio Northern University, spent two days attending public relations classes and interviewing faculty and students. They also talked to alumni in conference calls.

The pair looked all the resumes of faculty and were particularly interested in where students have internships, Harrison said.

The Public Relations Student Society of America conference was hosted in conjunction with national PRSA conference. Students met with professionals such as Scott Farrell, Golin’s president of Global Communications, and Ellen East, Time Warner Cable’s chief communications officer, said Cat Huynh, vice president of the Beth Wood Chapter of PRSSA at Indiana University.

“National conference offered such an amazing opportunity to network with professionals and other chapter schools, but most importantly I was able to get closer to those in my chapter,” Huynh said. “Our time in Atlanta also gave us a lot of ideas on how to strengthen our chapter.”

Tori Lawhorn, PRSSA’s director of alumni engagement, said “there was something for everyone” at the conference, and that such offerings are just more of what PRSSA chapter experience provides.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how much practical experience I’ve received thanks to IU PRSSA,” she said. “From going on agency tours to organizing speaker panels, I feel that IU PRSSA has prepared me immensely for my professional PR career.”