UA Advertising and Public Relations Professor Honored for Red Cross Service

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dr. J. Suzanne Horsley, assistant professor of advertising and public relations at The University of Alabama, has been awarded a SuPRStar Award for Excellence in Community Service from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication for volunteer work with the American Red Cross after the April 27 tornado.

“The Chinese character for crisis is a mix of danger and opportunity,” said Horsley, a national public affairs volunteer for the Red Cross. “This crisis in Tuscaloosa – yes, it was a danger. But, look at the opportunities to come together as a community, get students involved in helping and conduct research that can help mitigate disasters in the future.

“That’s very rare, and I didn’t want to miss out on my opportunity to use my skills and background to help Tuscaloosa.”

Following the tornado, Horsley sprang to action almost immediately, participating in more than 50 national, international, regional and local interviews and coaching Red Cross leadership and workers to prepare them for interviews. She also assisted with distribution of public information throughout the state and helped emergency management agencies and the Tuscaloosa mayor’s office develop and implement communication strategy.

Horsley recruited and involved her students in her work, as well, implementing a six-student public affairs team that provided the students with invaluable real-world experience. She and the students created a Red Cross community page and blog for the local chapter, generated online content, helped provide media triage at the disaster relief shelter, wrote news releases and shot and edited video.

Horsley was nominated by Dr. Joe Phelps, APR department chair, who described her as a “tireless worker” and said, “her efforts make me proud to be her colleague and thankful that she is a part of our community.”