UA’s Plank Center Salutes PRSSA 40th Anniversary with book of Insights, Inspiration from PR Legends

PHILADELPHIA – Thirty-four honored public relations leaders are authors of a unique book introduced today at the annual conference of the Public Relations Student Society of America in Philadelphia.

The publication is a 40th anniversary gift to the society, known as PRSSA, from the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations at The University of Alabama.

The 90-page anthology, titled “Legacies from Legends in Public Relations,” includes personal messages of counsel, wisdom and experience for students, according to Dr. Bruce Berger, director of the center and chairman of the UA advertising and public relations department. “These men and women are recognized and respected leaders whose work for diverse organizations and for the profession has shaped and strengthened public relations practice and education in the last half century,” he said.

All of the 34 professionals in the book have received one or more lifetime honors from three major public relations organizations: The Arthur W. Page Society’s Hall of Fame and Distinguished Service Awards; the Institute for Public Relations’ Alexander Hamilton Medal; and the Public Relations Society of America’s Gold Anvil Award and its Educators Academy Ferguson Award.

Honorees named in late 2007 and beyond will be invited to post their messages on the center’s Web site as an ongoing legacy. The book also includes the names of all recipients of these and other important awards in the profession.

More than 1,900 students and professionals are receiving the book at the Public Relations Student Society of America conference and the simultaneous meeting of the Public Relations Society of America, the student society’s parent organization. Later distribution will include student officers and advisors of the PRSSA chapters in 284 colleges and universities and those attending PRSSA’s assembly and regional conferences in 2008.

“This anthology – one generation of public relations leaders sharing insights and inspirations with the next – seems an ideal gift to honor four decades of growth and achievement for the student association,” Berger said. “We congratulate PRSSA on this milestone and hope the book will enlighten and inspire the organization’s 9,000 current student members, who represent the next generation of public relations.”

Established in 2005, the primary mission of the Plank Center is to help develop and recognize leadership in public relations. Led by a national advisory board, the center supports research, teaching, service and professional educational efforts that further the understanding and ethical practice of public relations. The center is named for UA alumna and nationally acclaimed public relations pioneer, Betsy Plank.

The center is located in the College of Communication and Information Sciences at UA, one of the nation’s most prestigious communication colleges. The College is ranked among the top 10 in number of doctoral degrees awarded and in many of its research programs. With 600 students, UA’s public relations program is the largest undergraduate degree program in the College.

THE BOOK’S 34 AUTHORS

Ann H. Barkelew
Edward M. Block
Judith S. Bogart
John F. Budd, Jr.
Chester Burger
Harold Burson
E. Ronald Culp
Ofield Dukes
Daniel J. Edelman
John W. (Jack) Felton
Lawrence G. Foster
Alvin Golin
John D. Graham
James E. Grunig, Ph.D.
Thomas L. Harris
Thomas Hoog
Barbara Hunter
John A. (Jack) Koten
Marilyn Laurie
Richard R. Mau
Gary McCormick
Debra A. Miller, Ed.D.
James E. Murphy
Willard D. (Bill) Nielsen
John Paluszek
Isobel Parke
Betsy Plank
John M. Reed
Ron Rhody
Kurt P. Stocker
Timothy Traverse-Healy
Joseph A. Vecchione
Richard Weiner
Frank W. Wylie