Every year, the Counselors to Higher Education (CHE) section of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) holds a Senior Summit where practitioners can learn hear from experienced executives on best practices and learn from one another what they can do to improve the communication activities at their higher education institutions.
Thanks in large part to subsidies from the Newhouse School (specifically Associate Dean for Professional Graduate Studies Joel Kaplan), The William P. Ehling Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), and Syracuse University’s Graduate Student Organization, I will be attending the 2013 Summit in April.
The Summit bills itself as the “premier annual event on higher education communications” and this year they clearly set out to live up to that expectation.
This year’s Summit features the following:
- A keynote luncheon by Michael Stoner entitled “Social Works: How #HigherEd Uses #SocialMedia to Raise Money, Build Awareness, Recruit Students and Get Results“.
- A session discussing the first ever research on CHE members of duties and how practitioners “can gain a seat at the table in order to practice truly strategic public relations” led by Rosalynne D. Whitaker-Heck from Hampton University and Jeanette DeDiemar from Florida State University
- a panel discussion about hosting the 2012 Presidential Debates at University of Denver Daniels College of Business and Lynn University
- A panel discussion led by John Morgan, associate vice president for public relations at Quinnipiac University entitled “The Next Time: Lessons Learned from Hurricane Sandy”
- A National Media Panel on Higher Education, featuring
Mary Beth Marklein, higher education correspondent, USA Today
Liz McMillen, editor, The Chronicle of Higher Education
Tim Goral, editor in chief, University Business
Scott Jaschik, editor, Inside Higher Ed - A keynote luncheon by Jason Simon, director of marketing communications at the University of California entitled: “Marketing Blunder? Hardly. How Being “Boldly Californian” Brought Down a Logo and Left A Stronger University of California”
and many more discussions and opportunities for networking.
While I’m the only attendee currently registered who is not already working full-time I plan to get everything I can out of this investment of time and money. I’ll be taking extensive notes on what I assume will be insightful lectures and discussions in addition to the opportunity to hear from dozens of industry professionals. I’m very excited for this opportunity to learn firsthand insights from masters in the field I hope to enter in June.
There is a private list of attendees only for those attending but there is also a page on Lanyrd for the event.
