Monday, April 9, 2007

USC College Dean’s Prize: How Can the Public Relations Program be Improved?

Veering away from the normal format of my blog, I switched the focus from the field of public relations to the education of public relations. They University of Southern California’s mission statement calls for “the development of human beings and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit.” The realities of this statement are laid out in USC’s 2004 strategic plan. In the plan, the university voices how they intend to incorporate new ideas and technology without losing the traditions of the past, and one way they aim to achieve this goal is by hiring the best and brightest faculty.

While USC is going to use their faculty to extend the university’s resources and educational value, the school also wants to hear what the students feel could be improved. The USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences created the college dean prize for the enrichment of student academic life, and it asks students to “think seriously about learning, be creative and daring, and inspire us.” Past winners have suggested new minors or career skills development. Even though I am a member of the Annenberg School of Journalism whose logo can be seen to the left as a public relations major and not the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences, I used the dean’s prize criteria to explore what could be enhanced in the public relations program to make it a better overall experience.

The initial problem I encountered with the Annenberg School of Journalism was that the school was not very accessible to students unless they were already enrolled in the school. I started college unsure of what I wanted to study and as an undecided major. I thought I would use the general education program to explore and find what major I wanted to pursue. As I began to search through my possible major options, I realized I could not take a class in Annenberg as part of my general education program. I believe this is a big mistake, and that Annenberg should offer some classes as “GEs.” Writing class are required for all students, so Annenberg could fit some of their curriculum into the writing programs. Annenberg would attract more attention from students if they gave them the opportunity to see what it would be like to be in the Annenberg school.

Part of USC's strategic plan refers to “providing unique opportunities for career preparation,” and Annenberg has many clubs that can help reach this goal. Although my experience with one of Annenberg’s club TriSight Communications at the right, a student run public relations firm, was not what I was expecting. I felt I could have contributed more to my group and taken more from the experience, but the group did not need a lot of my assistance. It would be beneficial to TriSight Communications and the students if Annenberg could institute a rule or guideline that ensured each person was allowed to contribute as much as they wanted to. I had hoped to have a very active role and get a lot of hands on experience; instead I did a lot of observing.

I wanted to gain more insight into how other colleges’ journalism schools are set up and what their public relations majors are like. I searched through the Association of American Universities and found that a lot of colleges do not even have journalism schools. The colleges I found that did have journalism school did not have public relations as a major. Indiana University’s Journalism school does not have a public relations major, but they do offer class that teach the writing and principles of public relations. The schools emblem can be seen at the left. Although Indiana University’s public relations classes cannot teach as much detail and hands on experience as Annenberg’s major program, the classes do instruct students on managerial issues, client relations, and budgets. I have not heard of an Annenberg public relations class that teaches these elements. Now I have not taken all of my public relations classes, so I may not be aware that I will learn about these ideas in the future. I do know that Indiana University made mention of clients and budgets in their course descriptions, and Annenberg did not. It is important to know all of the public relations practices that Annenberg bestows on their students, but it is also important to know about the details that will make it easier to get through the day. Annenberg might want to consider incorporating these ideas into their curriculum; it may be a good idea to create another elective class based on them.

After researching and exploring ideas for this post, I realized the Annenberg School of Journalism has an excellent public relations program. They have set up a great curriculum and strongly encourage their students to get involved outside of the classroom. I feel they are meeting the requirements of USC’s mission statement.

Sunday, April 1, 2007

James C. Kennedy: USC's Next Honorary Degree Recipient

With the end of the academic year approaching and commencement looming as picture to the left, the notion of receiving a degree is steadily becoming a reality to many hard working students. At the same time, most universities also extend honorary degrees to accomplished individuals. At my school, the University of Southern California, honorary degrees are given "[t]o honor individuals who have distinguished themselves through extraordinary achievements in scholarship, the professions, or other creative activities, whether or not they are widely know by the general public." I decided for this post I would find someone in my intended field of public relations who is deserving of an honorary degree from USC. While the intentions of the honorary degree are commendable, the outcomes do not always reflect the initial objectives. According to James Freedman, president emeritus of the University of Iowa and Dartmouth College, the standards have changed and the “purpose of honoring distinguished personal achievement has been widely modified [. . .] to flatter generous donors and prospective benefactors.” They have often been transformed into “trivialized” awards for “mere celebrities—who are often famous principally for being famous.” With this stigma in mind, I searched and found a company CEO, James C. Kennedy, who deserves a Doctors of Human Letters for being an outstanding citizen.

This would not be the first time a Doctors of Human Letters went to a newspaper person; Herbert G. Klein, retired vice president and editor-in-chief of Copley Newspapers, received the award in May of 2006. Being a successful CEO of a major communications company who was strong roots in newspaper, radio, and television, Kennedy, seen to the right, has had tremendous success in the fields of journalism and communications, and done it all in an admirable manner. He is the grandson of former Ohio governor and Cox Enterprises founder, James M. Cox. He graduated from the University of Denver with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Kennedy’s career began with Cox when he worked for the Atlanta newspapers in 1972. Sixteen years later in 1988, Kennedy was named chairman and CEO of Cox Enterprise. He held various positions before becoming CEO including publisher, vice president of Cox Newspapers, and executive vice president of Cox Enterprises. Kennedy was clearly prepared to take the role of chairman and CEO after he spent numerous years preparing for the position. I think it is enduring that he went to school considering the popular trend of prominent businessmens’ offspring to not value the work that was done to create the life they have. It would have been easy for him to skip college and still have a pleasant job at his grandfather’s company. Instead Kennedy got an education, started his job at an entry level position, and worked his way up. Once Kennedy was in charge the company flourished. From the years of 1988 to 20002, Kennedy increased the company’s revenues from 1.8 billion to 9.9 billion; and the Cox Enterprises' companies are all list among the top ten in their fields.

Similar to Tommy Trojan, Kennedy is a very skillful man. If the success he has brought to his corporation is not enough evidence that he deserves the honorary degree then the awards Kennedy and his company have received should be another reason. James C. Kennedy himself was named to the J. Mark Robison College of Business’ Hall of Fame in 2004 for his achievements with Cox Enterprises. In March, Cox Communications, one of Cox Enterprises' companies, placed twenty-five out of the top fifty diverse companies on DiversityInc’s diversity list. Obtaining a position within this esteemed group was competitive, and Cox's placement of twenty-fifth is very impressive considering three hundred and seventeen companies fought to acquire a spot on the list. The grounds for this award mirror one of the core values of the corporation, which is commitment “to having a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve.” Not only does Cox Enterprises set ambitious goals for their companies, but they live up to them too.

The USC Honorary Degree acknowledges "...exceptional acts of philanthrophy," and Cox Enterprises' recent charitable donation reveals that Kennedy is deserving of the award. Cox Enterprises donated six million dollars to the on going development of the Newseum, which is going to be a museum that “will offer visitors an experience that blends five centuries of news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits.” Within the Newseum, the First Amendment Gallery at the left will be named after Cox Enterprises. It is only fitting that Cox Enterprises contribution will go to the promotion of and education about the First Amendment because Cox Enterprises’ businesses are strongly affected by its liberties, such as freedom of speech . Some critics could argue that the gallery being named after Cox could expose a promotional and selfish act to gain more publicity, but Kennedy has never been a person to use his position is life for fame, and I believe he in not going to start now.

James C. Kennedy would be an exceptional honorary degree recipient, and he would delivery a fascinating speech to the graduating class. He believes "there are so many new opportunities coming along..most exciting time to get a new business." During the speech, he could educate about the future of communications and technology because of his many successful companies, and reiterate the importance of the past by reminding everyone about the First Amendment and the Newseum. Kennedy embodies the values established by USC and Tommy Trojan.