UA to Establish Center for Public Relations Studies Named for PR Pioneer Betsy Plank

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The College of Communication and Information Sciences at The University of Alabama will establish the Plank Center for Public Relations Studies named for UA alumna and nationally acclaimed public relations pioneer Betsy Plank.

Plank, of Chicago, is a 1944 graduate of UA. A long-time leader in the field of public relations, she has had a distinguished career in corporate public relations and with counseling firms and was the first woman elected president (1973) of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). In 2000, she was the first person honored for outstanding service to the profession by The Arthur W. Page Society, an association of the nation’s top corporate public relations executives.

The new center is designed to encourage a national dialogue among public relations professionals, educators and students about effective and ethical representation of institutions, organizations, ideas and individuals. It will promote teaching, research and service that further the understanding and practice of public relations.

“The Plank Center will bridge public relations practice and academia. It will provide excellent opportunities for practitioners, faculty and students to conduct research, discuss issues and participate in workshops, forums and conferences,” said Dr. Culpepper Clark, dean of the UA College of Communication and Information Sciences.

Dr. Bruce Berger, chair of the department of advertising and public relations at the UA College of Communication and Information Sciences and director of the new center, said the center will also be a valuable resource for UA faculty and students.

“This center will allow our faculty and students to interact with the top professionals in the field of public relations and to engage in the many outreach activities we envision,” Berger said.

UA’s public relations program has already attained national distinction as the 12th program in the United States to be reviewed and certified by PRSA. With more than 550 students, it is the largest undergraduate degree program in the College.

An advisory board of public relations practitioners and academics will lead the Plank Center. UA public relations faculty members will serve as Faculty Fellows of the center.

The center’s activities will include producing scholarly and professional papers and other publications and sponsoring service activities, as well as hosting a lecture series and symposia focusing on issues of significance to the public relations field. The center may also establish a program of awards and recognition for best practices and outstanding performance in public relations, and will seek collaborations with PRSA, The Arthur W. Page Society and other organizations that serve the discipline of public relations. The center will also award academic scholarships to undergraduate students who show exceptional promise as public relations professionals.

Plank has long been involved with public relations education and its students. She co-chaired the 1987 national commission to develop guidelines for the undergraduate public relations curriculum and has served with on-site review teams for the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. For work as founder and co-chair of the Champions for the Public Relations Student Society of America, the student organization has named its annual scholarships for her. The PRSA Educators Academy presented her its first award for service to public relations education by a practitioner.

A founding member of PRSA’s College of Fellows, Plank is the only person to receive three of the society’s top awards: the Gold Anvil, awarded to the nation’s outstanding professional, the Lund Award, for civic and community service, and the Jackson Award for exemplary service. She was inducted into The University of Alabama’s Communication Hall of Fame in 2001, and the College of Communication and Information Sciences named its Distinguished Achievement Award for her.

The UA College of Communication and Information Sciences is among the largest and most prestigious communication colleges in the nation. It has graduated more than 12,000 students and consistently is ranked among the top 10 in number of doctoral degrees awarded and in many of its research programs.