"INSTITUTIONAL IMAGE — How to Define, Improve, Market It."

EDUCATIONAL CATALIST PUBLICATIONS

The best definition I ever heard about public relations is:

      "If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying 'Circus Coming to the Fairground Sunday,' that's advertising.
      If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk him through town, that's promotion.
      If the evening news shows the elephant walking through the mayor's flower bed, that's publicity.
      And if you can get the mayor to comment about it, that's public relations."

Historically speaking . . .
Public Relations in higher education has a long history. I have been involved in public relations for most of my professional life. That has covered about 35+ years -- spanning from my early days at Syracuse University and the University of Rochester in the 50s and 60s to my recent experiences at Stanford in the 80s and 90s. I have watched the profession develop over all these years.

Paper, paper & paper . . .
When I first started in PR, the news release was standard fare. Typically, a news release was a manually typewritten and mimeographed copy sent (by U.S.mail) to a list of newspapers, magazines, reporters (a media list). In the old days the IBM Selectric typewriter with changeable typographic balls (called "elements") was used to add typographic interest. This was a great improvement over the old Royal typewriters... direct impression, clacking machines which many PR types and reporters fondly cherished.

A new tomorrow . . .
With the advent of computers and marketing communications, public relations made an incredible transformation. The methodology changed but the substance remained quite similar. PR still remained a very important aspect of higher education administration. Electronic technology (and Internet), changed drastically. However, words and images, remained quite the same. Nevertheless, excellent PR still was the backbone for good higher education marketing communications. PR strategy continued to play a major role in advancing an academy.

When I consider marketing higher education, I think PR to be very important. PR is not marketing and marketing is not PR. They have very different objectives and purposes. But one supports the other. One cannot replace the other. They need to work in synergistic ways. They need to be part of an integrated master plan in order to work effectively.

Quality issue . . .
Some people think public relations is chicanery and false information generation. Granted, when used improperly, PR can be very, very negative. You know many examples of how PR can be used improperly in politics, industry, sales. and life. There is no denying it! However, PR can be a very positive, honest, frank, direct and powerful way to reach key target audiences and help an academy advance. Higher education PR, when used honestly, is a super adjunct to marketing.

International PR . . .
Most of the nation's higher education PR pros are coming up with ways of sharing knowledge across international boundaries, and many are emphasizing the role of technology in helping develop global best practices. High-tech is being used in conjunction with a more humanistic approach to help academies thousands of miles apart learn from one another. Watch this area develop like wild fire!

PR Personalities . . .
I have a friend in PR (now retired), whom I admire very much, His name is Edwin Crawford. Ed is the consummate PR person. I describe Ed as one "who can tell you to go to Hell and you look forward to the trip." Ed's soft, Southern way of communicating and his sharp wit and functional way of thinking makes him a splendid PR guy. I have watched Ed work with people and I have been fascinated by his ability to deliver information in ways that bring situations to life (to inspire confidence). Ed is an outstanding spokesperson.

Ed is perfect for higher education PR because he has unusual ability to understand global trends in the educational business while being able to direct an academy toward successful conclusions. Ed is a consummate "sounding board" for management and leadership. He is the type of professional every PR person in higher education should aspire to be.

Ed has a great attitude for public relations work. I have observed that Ed's attitude stems from his love of the work he is doing and a genuine respect for his employer. With this base of operation, Ed was able to exercise his duties with genuine honor and respect. There was nothing "phony" about Ed, the institution he represented, nor what he said on behalf of the school. The result was that Ed was very believable. I respected that. So did all the reporters who talked with him.

PR on the net . . .
There is a public relations forum (a list-serve) which is very active but dominated by a certain few individuals. I personally enjoyed it for many years but, over time, it was usurped by a few individuals and now it has deteriorated badly. I do not recommend it. However you may want to check it out at

Bathroom PR . . .
The funniest experience I had in PR came at the University of Rochester. The University Board had announced the search for a new President to replace W. Allen Wallis. The suspense had been building as time went on. Lots of news stories speculated about whom the new President might be. The University kept it secret... or so they thought!

One day a person ran in to the PR office yelling "They just announced the new President on local radio! All the administrators at the University looked astonished. "How could they do that?" How could they know?

The report was accurate. The "cat had been let out of the bag." All the efforts at secrecy had failed. How did they find out?

It turns out that a radio reporter was sitting in the administration men's room "doing his business" when two Board members came in talking about the new selection. That did it!

My Stanford PR experience . . .
While I was employed by Stanford (as Director of Publications) the University celebrated its Centennial. It was planned to be a very celebratory event... a joyous occasion, honoring 100 years of success. The person in charge, Steven Peeps, a wonderful PR person and my boss, directed the PR aspects of the three day event. My staff and I planned a big celebration with all the hoop-la one might expect from an outstanding University! We had banners, tents, shows, music and all the accouterments you might imagine. We were well along in the layout and planning stages when the proverbial "****" hit the fan.

Stanford, all of a sudden, was in the national media spotlight charged with misusing government funds in "indirect" costs on research projects. We were featured on "60 Minutes" with not too favorable reporting! A vast problem was developing, both on campus and off. We were covered in lots of news reports... magazines, newspapers, and on television and radio. The President was summoned to a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C. It was as if a bomb had gone off. I remember meeting with Steven Peeps to discuss the "problem" and how it related to the upcoming Centennial celebration. We decided to change the direction of the events. Rather than a "celebration" we decided to change focus on what Stanford was best known for... excellent education. We shifted focus from celebration to education. We lined up speakers, nationally known alumni personalities, to make short presentations to the thousands of alumni expected to attend.

What had been planned as a gay, light-hearted celebration became an educational event of significant magnitude. The result was a resounding success, thanks to Steven Peeps, (another consummate PR pro)!

Successful public relations involve strategic thinking, a close relationship to an overall, INTEGRATED marketing plan, and professionals who know their business. I hope your academy has a real pro leading your PR efforts.

Who in their right mind would teach in a swamp? Perhaps swamp is a misnomer. Better terms might be extended campus or outreach campus. But, no matter what name is applied, the reality often feels like existence in a sluggish swamp. The communication between main campus and outreach campus can get bogged down or completely drowned. Off-site excursions by main campus personnel are sparse, often assuming an air of new discovery as they wade into unknown waters. Supplies are delivered sporadically, dependent on a courier system of finding someone who must make a trip to the outlying campus anyway.

For the swamp teacher, the rule of thumb is often "Do the job with what you don't have." As a 15 year veteran of outreach teaching, I've learned about adaptive flexibility. A sense of humor is a prerequisite. The communication SNAFUs, the nonrecognition as a college employee, and the waiting are all part and parcel of the job.

One of the first lessons for a "newbie" to outreach teaching is the terminology. It differs from that of main campus. Support staff? For years I thought of it as a wooden cane used for navigating the unplowed parking lot. I thought it was standard issue for all instructors and kept waiting for mine to arrive. I was amazed to discover that main campus instructors had access to typing and copying services, audio-visual technicians and equipment, and learning aids such as instructor's manuals, worksheets, visuals, tapes and CDs. In an extended campus situation, most instructors develop, type, and reproduce their own instructional materials.

And what about that phrase "Curriculum Development?" Although we follow the same course goals and objectives, how we achieve them is a creative challenge. Extended campus staff usually have little input into textbook selection, and seldom receive the coordinated teaching aids usually supplied by publishers. We teacher's in the swamp are much like the stereotypical "bag lady". We hoard bits of string and paper, guard Magic Markers with our lives, and demolish outdated magazines as we harvest articles and tidbits.

So, you may ask, what type of challenges do exist? Let me share with you a few actual happenings from my classroom.

The Chameleon Textbook: As all teachers do, I labor each semester over my syllabus, planning the ebb and flow of what I must achieve. I always feel so satisfied when I have this task completed, with a nice balance of textbook reading and hands-on application. But planning can often go awry. Several years ago, I industriously set about putting together my syllabus before the first class session. Knowing I had 27 students enrolled, I painstakingly developed a syllabus that allowed for a blend of text reading, lecture, and application time. The first night of class, I held aloft my copy of the textbook (a plebeian student's version, not an annotated teacher's text) and was met with 27 uncomprehending stares. The college had changed texts between semesters and forgotten to inform outreach centers. Students all bought the new text, teachers had the old. That first night was a three hour session of ad lib instruction. Needless to say the students thought it was hilarious.

Technology Merge: Denizens of the swamp campus are not technologically deprived. We have computers and the internet, interactive television and fax machines. But, sometimes the planning of courses gets a bit skewed. I was assigned to teach a writing class via ITV (interactive television). The course emphasized computers and the internet as writing and research tools. I was enthusiastic about using the new ITV technology to link four separate campuses and revealing the wonders of internet research to my students. Unfortunately, the college did not require students be computer literate before attempting the course. Over half the students had no computer experience and had never been exposed to the internet. I found myself teaching computer basics along with writing skills. This was made more difficult by the campus' ITV rooms being set up as classrooms and not computer labs. Not a computer in sight for anyone. It was a challenging semester.

Revolving Roster: Every semester starts out with a temporary roster as students scurry through the drop/add period. New rosters appear weekly for the first few weeks. That isn't a major problem. But, it never fails that we in the swamp get instructions (always sounding quite frantic) to track down some lost student and indicate their status within 24 hours, only to find out the course had been dropped at the main campus site and that information was not yet in the computer. Even final rosters, which can appear anywhere from four to eight weeks after classes begin, are read cautiously. I usually think of the old television show "Rawhide" at this time of year. The show's theme song always instructed..."Head 'em up, move 'em out!" The only problem, it seems, is that main campus and the outreach campus don't always work with the same herd.

Lending Lunacy: I like to video tape my speech students so they can critique themselves. To do this, I have to coordinate with main campus for a video camera to be delivered to our campus. Sounds like a simple procedure. But simplicity is far from reality. I must first gain official approval, then track down the person capable of finding a spare taping unit. After the camera has been secured, I must either travel to main campus myself or arrange for it's delivery via some other non-cost method. I have the equipment for only a specified time and must then return it posthaste. If all goes well, I can usually manage to get a camera by midterm for two weeks. If all goes well, the equipment will arrive in working fashion with all it's bits and pieces intact for immediate use. Unfortunately, all does not always go well. I've had semesters when "Tape Night" finds me looking at a camera with no power cord, or no microphone. It always pays to have an alternative lesson plan and a sense of humor when teaching in an outreach center.

But, despite the frustrations, I love teaching in the swamp. It's not always easy or predictable. It's teaching with "bare bones" amenities that challenge my creativity and keep me alert to instructional possibilities. I can't imagine teaching any other way.

Lana Brookman lives in Tomah, Wisconsin. She has been an instructor for Western Wisconsin Technical College (WWTC) - Tomah campus for 15 years. She teaches credit courses in Speech and Written Communications, as well as working with students in Adult Basic Education arenas. In addition, she is contracted through WWTC to serve as an on-site workplace instructor at a local factory. There she works with employees on GED/HSED prep, basic academic brush-up, basic computer programs, English as a Second Language, and personal enhancement topics. She has also worked with various employment and training programming while employed with a nonprofit agency for 15 years.

With a degree in English and Speech, Lana has always loved words and enjoys writing as an avocation. She currently works part time as a book designer/editor for a publisher, and does freelance writing and editing. She has written a chap book of poetry, and is currently working on a book of humorous essays about being middle aged. One of her main goals is to travel and write about her experiences.

Comments from Bob Topor:
Lana describes many of the pervasive problems found at a multi-sited campus. Her problems, from "in the trenches," affect the "product," and often result in marketing problems. We can learn, from those who are "on-line" at the "point of service delivery, the importance of well-oiled delivery!

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