UA’s Plank Center Establishes Fellowship Program for Public Relations Educators

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Citing the need to link college educators and curriculum more actively with the workplace needs of employers, the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations at The University of Alabama announced its sponsorship of an annual fellowship program for public relations educators.

The new Plank Center program will help introduce professors to the current day-to-day operations of the public relations function and create an exchange of information and ideas that will enhance the professional development of both the educators and the practitioner-sponsors.

In the first year of the program, the Plank Center hopes to place eight educators in public relations agency, corporate, not-for-profit and government sector roles. In developing this effort, the Plank Center reviewed a dozen comparable programs for key learnings and best practices.

“We’re very excited about launching this new fellowship effort,” said Dr. Karla Gower, director of the Plank Center and Behringer Distinguished Professor in the department of advertising and public relations at UA. “We know the tremendous challenges of the past year. In this economy, we’ve learned that people are more willing to experiment, to try new ways to become more efficient and more effective. And we believe there’s great value that comes from cultivating the outside perspective of a public relations educator.”

As former students gain experience and positions of leadership, Gower said the Plank Center hopes that they may place greater value on “re-connecting with their former teachers and mentors to open the doors to this kind of mutual opportunity.” She said additional beneficiaries are the public relations students, who can be ensured that their professors are knowledgeable in the current practices and issues facing practitioners and have a greater appreciation for the value of theory and research in today’s public relations work.

Maria Russell, professor of public relations at Syracuse University and the Plank Center board member who led development of the new program, said educators selected to participate in the Plank Center Fellowship program will spend two full weeks in the offices of the sponsoring organization. The sponsor will pay housing and per diem expenses for the chosen educator; the educators or their institutions will pay for travel to the sponsoring organization and any out-of-pocket expenses.

Russell said the Plank Center will act as the convener of the Fellowship Program for Public Relations Educators, using its reach and professional standing to draw visibility and awareness for the program; marketing it to both educators and organization leaders; and coordinating the application process and “match.”

The Plank Center has posted eligibility requirements and application details for educators and sponsoring organizations on its Web site at http://www.plankcenter.ua.edu/. Deadline for candidate applications is March 1. 

In 2005, the UA Board of Trustees established the Plank Center, named for public relations leader and UA alumna Betsy Plank, to develop and recognize outstanding performance in the profession and the classroom. Through a variety of programs, and in concert with other groups and associations, the Center works to nurture the ethical and effective practice of public relations and help develop outstanding leaders.

In addition to national leaders in practice and education, the Center Board includes an ex-officio position for the president of the Public Relations Student Society of America, which represents more than 9,800 members in 295 colleges and universities, including UA.

The Center is housed in UA’s College of Communication and Information Sciences.  UA’s public relations program, with nearly 600 students, is the largest undergraduate degree program in the College of Communication and Information Sciences. The program is the 12^th in the nation to be reviewed and certified by the Public Relations Society of America.