S tudents interested in getting hands on experience in public relations have their chance in a class modeled after a real public relations firm. Visiting Professor Ann Haugland’s Public Relations Practice Workshop is designed to provide students with the skills they need to enter into the world of public relations.

“In this class you are doing real work for a real client, and the structure of the class models the structure of a public relations agency,” Haugland said.

The class was “hired” by Jeff Liebermann of the UI Foundation and Pam Creedon, Director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, to begin a campaign to raise money and awareness about the new Adler Building.

The students decided to target their fellow journalism students in an attempt to create awareness about the new building and a sense of tradition, pride and knowledge among journalism students, according to Ali Lentzkow, a senior from Naperville, Ill.

The students plan to create a sense of sense of giving to students in hopes that they will give back to the J-MC School when they are alumni.

“Students researched specific audiences in groups, wrote individual analyses of the situation and developed objectives, strategies and key messages as a class," Haugland said.

Haugland expects the class to make a commitment to their clients, their team members and the class as a whole. She says that the objectives of the class are to learn the strategic planning process, gain practical experience in public relations, to develop skills of teamwork, responsibility and flexibility and to meet the needs of clients by developing interest in and support for the J-MC School.

“The students are doing a terrific job; they are learning about working with clients and working within a big institution like UI,” Haugland said.

“They are also learning about the history and tradition of the school and its many supporters."

The class has started to develop ideas to begin new traditions within the J-MC School. These ideas include things like giving every student admitted into the J-MC School a special reporter’s notebook, or having a senior composite taken to hang in the halls of the Adler Building. Other ideas include having the seniors donate a gift to the school or starting a program asking for small monetary donations from students.

“We are coming up with a lot of ideas that will be carried on by another group of students,” Lentzkow said. “Some of these things will take a lot longer to do than others. The awareness campaign is beginning now and will continue through next year, so will the message of tradition and pride.”

Several of the students consulted with the Professional Advisory Board this semester to get feedback on their campaign strategy as well as to discuss ways to incorporate a sense of pride into the new Adler Building.

“We have pride and tradition, but we don’t know why,” Ashley Switalski, a junior from Downer’s Grove, Ill., told the Board. “It’s time we stop being so modest and develop our traditions. The new building is an opportunity to do that.”

Students in the class called on alumni and board members to share their memories about the J-MC School. They hope to use these memories to create a new tradition within the J-MC School that will follow them after they graduate.

“Building a sense of tradition brings people in, keeps them there, develops pride and brings them back,” Jake Gancarczyk, a senior from Joliet, Ill., said.
By Meghann Dowd