UA’s Plank Center Celebrates PR Educator Fellowship Program

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations at The University of Alabama has completed its fourth Fellowship Program for Public Relations Educators.

In 2013, seven applicants were selected and placed with host organizations for two weeks during the summer.

The 2013 Plank Center Educator Fellows and their hosts were:

• Dr. Cathy Rogers, Loyola University, hosted by General Motors
• Dr. Dana Janbek, Lasell College, hosted by Johnson & Johnson
• Prisca Ngondo, California State University-Chico, hosted by McDonald’s Corp.
• Dr. Lois Foreman-Wernet, Capital University, hosted by Northwestern Mutual
• Dr. David Remund, Drake University, hosted by Regions Financial Corp.
• Dr. Ming (Bryan) Wing, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, hosted by Tesoro Cos.
• Dr. Brigitta Brunner-Johnson, Auburn University, hosted by USAA

“Our fellows worked in world-class agencies and corporate settings, seeing first-hand the issues and challenges practitioners face today,” said Dr. Karla Gower, director of the Plank Center and professor in the department of advertising and public relations in UA’s College of Communication and Information Sciences.

Rick White, vice president of corporate communications for the Wisconsin Energy Corp. and Plank Center board member, said, “Educators received hands-on experience with great organizations and, in return, the organizations benefited by interacting with world-class strategic thinkers.”

Educators selected to participate in the Plank Center Fellowship program spend two full weeks in the offices of the sponsoring organization. Key beneficiaries of the fellowship are public relations students who can be assured that their professors are knowledgeable in the current practices and issues facing practitioners and that practitioners have a greater appreciation for the value of theory and research of their classrooms in today’s public relations work, said White.

The Plank Center’s mission is to bridge the gap between education and practice. The Fellowship Program for Educators helps do that by forging a closer relationship between educators and practitioners.

About the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations

In 2005, The University of Alabama Board of Trustees established The Plank Center, named for a public relations leader and UA alumna, the late 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 and help develop outstanding leaders.

In addition to national leaders in the practice and education, the Center Board includes an ex officio position for the president of the Public Relations Student Society of America that represents more than 11,000 members in 300-plus colleges and universities.

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 certified by the Public Relations Society of America and for five consecutive years has been ranked among the top five public relations programs in the country by PRWeek magazine.

More information about the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations can be found at www.plankcenter.ua.edu.