1998 NCA SUMMER CONFERENCE: DIALOGUE ON PUBLIC RELATIONS EDUCATION
July 9 to July 12, 1998
Arlington, Virginia, Key
Bridge Marriott
Executive Summary
***
The NCA 1998 Summer Conference: Dialogue on Public
Relations Education was held
July 9-12 at the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of
Washington, DC. The action-oriented conference had two goals: to produce models
for instruction and curricula in public relations, and to present and share
ideas about public relations education. The target audience for the conference
was anyone interested in public relations education, including theorists and
researchers, teachers, and public relations practitioners.
An NCA Task
Force on Public Relations Education planned and implemented the conference,
directed by co-chairs, Carl Botan, Purdue University Lafayette, and Judy
VanSlyke Turk, University of South Carolina. Associate Director, Sherry Morreale,
managed the conference within the National Office. The task force of 40 NCA
members was divided into five task teams: Survey Development (co-chairs, Don
Stacks, and Jack Felton); Student Outcomes (co-chairs, Bonnie Neff, Gael Walker,
and Pam Creedon); Curriculum (chair, Elizabeth Toth); Pedagogy (co-chairs, Karyn
Rybacki and Timothy Coombs); and Assessment (co-chairs, Dan Lattimore and Don
Rybacki). The work of those task
teams was applied to academic levels by integrative task teams: undergraduate
communication (chair, Dan Millar); undergraduate journalism (chair, Jim Van
Leuven); MA professional (chair, Maria Russell); and MA theory-based/Ph.D.
(chair, Gabriel Vasquez).
***
On
Thursday evening, a reception hosted by the Freedom Forum at the Newseum,
Washington’s newest tourist attraction, will gave participants an opportunity
to talk about pertinent issues.
On
Friday, conference attendees participated in workgroups to refine the survey
data into four components of public relations education: student outcomes,
curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment methods.
On
Saturday, conferees integrated the four components to produce models for
academic levels/types of public relations programs: undergraduate
journalism-based, undergraduate communication/speech/rhetoric-based,
professional masters, theory-based masters, and Ph.D. programs.
During
lunch on Friday and Saturday, presentational/discussion roundtables were held to
give every participant the opportunity to share their work, such as syllabi and
papers, with other colleagues attending the conference.
On
Sunday morning, at a plenary session, the co-chairs and chairs of the
integrative teams to all conferees presented the results of the conference.
Following the plenary session, a meeting of the inter-associational Commission
on Public Relations Education met to consider how to carry the results of the
NCA conference forward.
A
special issue of Public Relations Review presented the conference’s results in
a series of articles written by the co-chairs, task and integrative team chairs.
That volume was published by the Public Relations Society of America and a copy
can be obtained from PRSA.
Contact
Person:
Sherwyn P. Morreale
NCA
Associate Director
202-464-4622
smorreale@natcom.org
