UA Plank Center Announces Selections for Public Relations Educator Fellowship Program

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations at The University of Alabama has announced the inaugural class for its Fellowship Program for Public Relations Educators.

Five educators will be placed in the offices of sponsoring organizations for two weeks this summer. The 2010 fellows and their hosts are:

▪ Dr. Bojinka Bishop, Ohio University, hosted by Home Depot (Atlanta)
▪ Dr. Eyun-Jung Ki, University of Alabama, hosted by GolinHarris (Chicago)
▪ Dr. Teresa Mastin, DePaul University, hosted by Ketchum Midwest (Chicago)
▪ Dr. Ken Plowman, Brigham Young University, hosted by Ketchum (New York)
▪ Dr. Brenda Wrigley, Syracuse University, hosted by Insidedge (Chicago)

Keith Burton, president of Insidedge and one of the Plank Center board members who helped develop the program, said the purpose of the Fellowship Program for Public Relations Educators is to expose professors to the current, real-world, day-to-day operations of the public relations function, and to create an important exchange of information and ideas that will enhance the professional development of both the educators and the practitioner-sponsors.

“We are honored to have the world class public relations teams and agencies of Home Depot, Ketchum Public Relations, GolinHarris and Insidedge as sponsors this year, and we’re excited about the continuing relationship the fellowship will foster between the educators and these sponsors,” said Dr. Karla Gower, director of the Plank Center and associate professor in the department of advertising and public relations in the UA College of Communication and Information Sciences.

“This annual Fellowship Program for Educators, along with other initiatives, represents the Center’s continuing efforts toward helping develop leadership values and skills in the classroom and profession.”

Maria Russell, professor of public relations at Syracuse University and the Plank Center board member who initiated the new program, said key beneficiaries of the fellowship are public relations students, who can be assured that their professors are knowledgeable of the current practices and issues facing practitioners; and that practitioners have a greater appreciation for the value of theory and research from the classroom in today’s public relations work.

Russell said the Plank Center serves as the convener of the Fellowship Program for Public Relations Educators, ensuring that each educator and sponsor are appropriately linked; that all details of each educator’s fellowship and “match” are appropriately handled; and that the program produces results that all parties involved will find invaluable.

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 classroom. Through a variety of programs, and in concert with groups and associations, the Center works to nurture the ethical and effective practice of public relations and help develop outstanding leaders.

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 within the College. The program is the 12th in the nation to be reviewed and certified by the Public Relations Student Society of America.