Marist Poll Student Worker Saves a Life

From Left: Jason Sokolowski, Bobby
Berlin, Daniela Charter

Congratulations to Marist Poll field supervisor Daniela Charter and Marist College communication major Jason Sokolowski for saving a life.

While working one of his shifts for the Marist Poll on the evening of April 16, Jason's random call -- one of hundreds that he might make in a night -- woke up Bobby Berlin of Manhattan. Berlin's speech was slurred and her answers to Jason's questions about Mayor Bloomberg didn't make sense. Sokolowski, who lost a close high-school friend to a diabetic attack last November, sensed that something was wrong and again asked Berlin, "Are you O.K.?"

A recording of the call documented Berlin responding, "Ahh, what? Awww, wuh."

Sokolowski asked again, "Are you O.K., mam?"

Berlin replied, "No." 

Click image to listen to YNN report and
audio of actual Marist Poll phone call.


At that point Sokolowski called in his supervisor, Daniela Charter, a four-year veteran of the Marist Poll. Suspecting that Ms. Berlin was experiencing a medical emergency, the team called Dutchess County, N.Y., 911 emergency services, who connected with Manhattan emergency services, who then traced Berlin's phone number. Arriving at her apartment, Manhattan first responders found Berlin nearing a diabetic coma. Following treatment, she has since recovered and is now back in her apartment.

Asked about the call, Bobby Berlin said, "If something hadn't been done, I don't think I would have made it until morning."

Remaining humble about his role in saving Bobby Berlin's life, Jason Sokolowski chalked up the incident to a "perfect storm" of random chances. "It all came together for her," Sokolowski concluded. "It just wasn't her time to go."

Jason Sokolowski is a Marist College junior in the School of Communication and the Arts. He has an academic concentration in advertising with a minor in psychology.

The Marist Institute for Public Opinion, better known as the Marist Poll, is a survey research center located at Marist College. Founded in 1978, the institute measures public opinion on a wide variety of topics at the local, regional, state, and national level. The data collected by the Poll are widely reported by journalists and analysts around the world.

For me, students like Jason Sokolowski and staff members like Daniela Charter are just one of the many rewards of teaching and studying at Marist College. Go Red Foxes!

News reports by YNN TV's John Wagner and NBC-TV4 New York's Melissa Russo contributed to this blog post. See additional stories and photographs by the Washington Post, the Poughkeepsie Journal, and Marist College Public Affairs.

PR Professional Lecturer Donohue Named Marist COMMARTS Faculty Member of the Year

Marist College's Jennie Donohue

The Marist Student Government Association (SGA) has selected Jennie Donohue, professional lecturer in public relations, as its 2011-2012 School of Communication and the Arts Faculty Member of the Year. Students across the Marist campus nominated deserving faculty members for this award during the spring 2012 elections for SGA.

Donohue joined the full-time faculty at Marist College in the fall of 2010. She is an award-winning communication professional with more than two decades of industry experience. Among other responsibilities, she serves as the faculty adviser to the college’s Red Foxes Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America. She is also a charter member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Hudson Valley Interest Group, which is in the process of forming the newest chapter in the PRSA, the world's largest professional organization of public relations practitioners.

I have had the pleasure of working closely with Jennie since her arrival at Marist in 2010. In the short time she has been on our faculty, she has energized the teaching of our public relations courses, established guest speaker program that introduces students to some of the nation's leading public relations professionals, guided the rapid growth and development of Marist's PRSSA chapter, helped the PRSSA chapter launch a student-run communication agency, and helped modernize the college's public relations curriculum.

I can think of no candidate more worthy of this year's award. Please join me in congratulating Jennie Donohue on this special recognition!

Expert Lessons in Strategic Communication

I  was privileged to have two brilliant guest speakers join my strategic communication course at the U.S. Army War College (Carlisle, PA) over the last few days. The course is one of several electives offered by the Center for Strategic Leadership this spring to senior military officers and government civilians from the United States and 66 other nations. Fellow faculty members Dennis Murphy and Ben Leitzel assist in teaching our strategic communication course to eight senior military and government service students from the United States, Zambia, Poland, and Lithuania.

Rear Admiral Hal Pittman

On March 30, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Hal Pittman (biography) talked to students about the strategic communication program conducted by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) based in Kabul, Afghanistan. Rear Admiral Pittman, a U.S. Navy public affairs officer based at U.S. Central Command in Tampa, FL, just returned from one year in Afghanistan as the ISAF Deputy Chief of Staff for Communication. He provided our class with a fascinating briefing on what has to rank as one of the most sophisticated and complex political-military strategic communication programs achieved to date.

I described his briefing in more detail on the DIME Blog of the Center for Strategic Leadership, U.S. Army War College. Click the following link to read my post. You can also click this link to read and download an unclassified set of slides that Rear Admiral Pittman used to illustrate his briefing about the ISAF strategic communication program.

On April 10, our class hosted a visit by Mr. Ron Rhody (biography), an award-winning journalist, book author, corporate public relations executive, and consultant to Fortune 500 companies. Mr. Rhody is also a member of the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Communication Council, which includes senior counselors like Harold Burson, founder and chairman of Burson-Marsteller; and Ed Block, founding director of the Arthur Page Society. Mr. Rhody was escorted by Dr. Frank Kalupa, Professor of Communication Studies, James Madison University. Dr. Kalupa served as the 2010-2011 Visiting Professor of Strategic Communication at the Center of Strategic Leadership, U.S. Army War College.

Mr. Ron Rhody

Mr. Rhody offered an insightful description of strategic communication from the perspective of corporate communication. This lesson served as a valuable companion to what we teach our students about government strategic communication. First, strategic communication is an essential senior leader function. According to Mr. Rhody, “I can’t think of a Fortune 500 company today that doesn’t count strategic communications as a crucial part of its overall operating plan.” Mr. Rhody elaborated that the key to successful operations is creating by-in among strategic audiences, or “the ability to understand your constituents’ wants and needs and find ways to associate their interests with your actions.” Furthermore, “The strongest single tool for achieving this is communication.”

This leads to the goal of corporate strategic communication: “to get people to do something, not do something, or let us [the corporation] do something…. Because they see how their self-interest is served.”

I am an advocate of research, planning, and evaluation in communication strategy. Communication is more than simply pumping out tactical messages. Therefore, I was gratified to hear Mr. Rhody stress the importance of the planning process in strategic communication. Here is his list of planning essentials: 

1. Be clear on the objective.
2. Be clear on who must be reached.
3. Determine what the audience needs to know, or think, or believe in order to hold opinions or take actions that support your objective.
4. Fashion messages and assemble information that will be persuasive and motivating to specific audiences; and then re-enforce those messages with actions that validate them (e.g., do what you say you will do).
5. Set an action timetable and provide sufficient resources (money, people, etc.).
6. Assign responsibilities to put the plan into action, then monitor, evaluate, and adjust as needed. 

In closing, I will share some universal words of wisdom provided by Mr. Rhody, which have obviously contributed in no small way to his success. This advice applies equally well to public relations as it does to strategic communication, so students, take note:

1. Always assume that anything that can go wrong will, so be prepared.
2. Make sure you have the facts.
3. Take the initiative and tell what you know, when you know it.
4. Get all the bad news out as rapidly as possible … or suffer dying by a thousand cuts.
5. Tell it straight … avoid spin.
6. Take the story directly to your constituents, in your words, with your facts.
7. Try to do what’s right.

If you are wondering how to achieve the kinds of success enjoyed by experts like Rear Admiral Pittman and Mr. Rhody, here’s a suggestion: become a student, study them, and follow their advice. If it works for them, it probably will work for you, too. Click this link for a copy of presentation slides provided by Rear Admiral Pittman. Click the following link for a copy of Mr. Rhody's talking points. You can also follow Rear Admiral Pittman on Facebook and Mr. Rhody on his blog.

Congratulations to Marist Red Foxes PRSSA!

I just received a note from Jennie Donohue, professional lecturer of public relations at Marist College, providing an update on the activities of Marist's Red Foxes Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). I was so impressed with the chapter's accomplishments this year, that I decided to share some of this good news with my blog followers.

According to Jennie, who is the chapter's faculty adviser, the chapter's executive board established several goals at the beginning of the school year last fall. These goals included recruiting and retaining more members in the chapter.

Of note, I served as the chapter's first faculty adviser when it received its charter from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) in December 2005. The chapter attracted immediate national attention by recruiting more than 70 members during its first semester of operations in spring 2006. According to PRSSA national headquarters, this accomplishment represented one of the fastest starts for a new PRSSA chapter on record -- made even more remarkable by the relatively small size of the Marist student body (around 4,000 undergraduates). However, over the next few years, membership began to decline, so the chapter leadership undertook efforts to survey members and find ways to encourage students to join and remain in the chapter.

The chapter's efforts have finally paid off in an impressive fashion. As of March 2012, the Red Foxes chapter reported the following accomplishments:

• An enrollment of 81 paid members, which nearly doubled membership (48 members in 2010-2011).
• Establishment of an active special events committee that has already built a strong reputation on campus.
• Development of a full staff  for the chapter's newsletter esPResso (click here).
• Enhancement of the chapter's blog (click here).
• Organization of a new student-run public relations firm, North Road Communications. The firm has already taken on professional clients like the Mid-Hudson Valley chapter of the American Red Cross.
• Introduction of a chapter awards program.  

In addition to this good news, Marist is proud to report that the current Chapter President Alexis Murphy, who will graduate in May, received national recognition for her work over the last year. First, she authored an article about the chapter that was published in the USA Today college edition. 

Alexis Murphy receiving
PRSSA Gold Key Award



Second, she was one of only a handful of students in the nation to receive the prestigious PRSSA Gold Key Award for her leadership. Alexis has been very influential in the chapter's success, serving on the executive board as president-elect and then president. Her blog posts, tweets, and news releases have been published by PRSSA on its social media sites, which has helped put Marist's PRSSA chapter on the national map.

I wanted to add a congratulations to Jennie Donohue, as well. After several years as faculty adviser, I felt it was time to turn over my responsibilities to someone else. That someone else could not have been better than Jennie. Jennie, who was active in PRSSA as an undergraduate student, has gone on to earn her MBA and enjoy a very successful career in public relations practice and teaching. Marist and our students benefit greatly from Jennie's professionalism, energy, ideas, positive attitude, and ability to inspire students.

Finally, thanks to the many professional mentors (including Marist alumni) who have helped and pledged support to the Red Foxes PRSSA members. There are far too many of these extremely talented and incredibly busy professionals to name here, but of the professionals I have worked with five come to mind. Thanks to Michael O'Brien (Ketchum), Tim Massie (former Marist chief of public affairs), Gerry McNulty (Marist Communication Intern Director), Jim Keller (IBM), and Justin Meise (River Communications Inc.), who have dedicate countless hours to travel and engagement with our students, without any compensation other than the pride they gain from helping to develop the next generation of public relations professionals.

Please join me in congratulating the members, advisers, and mentors of the Marist Red Foxes Chapter of PRSSA!

Mark

Marist Red Foxes: Special Offer! Join PRSA at Reduced Rate by Feb. 29 and Receive Free Membership in New Professionals Section!

Are you a PRSSA member within five months of graduation? If so, you can take advantage of discounted membership dues in the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) as an Associate Member and, during the month of February, FREE membership in PRSA’s New Professionals Section.

Graduating members of PRSSA qualify for Associate Membership at the annual rate of $60 for up to two years following graduation. This is a significant savings compared to the $255 annual dues for regular PRSA membership and $20 membership fee for the New Professionals Section.

To become an Associate Member, go to http://bit.ly/AFi4oo and click on the “Join PRSA” link. Join by February 29, select “New Professionals Section,” and be sure to enter promotion code AM12 with payment to receive this special offer.

Membership in PRSA makes you part of a vibrant community of more than 21,000 public relations professionals and grants you access to members-only benefits that will help you develop your professional skills and cultivate a successful career.

With your Associate Membership, you will:

-- Connect and engage with other public relations professionals and industry leaders.

-- Access free and discounted Professional Development learning opportunities.

-- Receive career coaching, résumé writing tips, interview advice and an industry perspective from veteran public relations professionals.

-- Find a job using networking tools in the PRSA Jobcenter.

With PRSA New Professionals Section membership, receive helpful resources that will help you smoothly transition from student to young professional. As a New Pros Section member, you will:

-- Network virtually and face-to-face with peers who have less than three years experience in public relations.

-- Gain knowledge and skills that are critical to your success through informative newsletters about the industry, mentoring, online discussion forums, podcasts, webinars and events.

-- Access career-launching tools, resources and expertise.

-- Have opportunities to step into leadership roles and advocate for the profession.

Also, any new or current members of PRSA are encouraged to join the new Hudson Valley Chapter of PRSA, which is currently being formed in the greater Dutchess County region. The new chapter will be closely affiliated with Marist College and the Red Foxes PRSSA Chapter. To join the chapter or obtain more information contact Dr. Mark A. Van Dyke at mark.vandyke@marist.edu or visit the Hudson Valley Interest Group on LinkedIn.

For additional information about membership in PRSA, contact PRSA’s members services at membership@prsa.org or (212) 460-1400.

Prospects For PR Promising in 2012

The Council of Public Relations Firms announced on January 18 the results of its latest industry survey, and the future looks promising for the public relations profession. Here is a report of the fourth quarter 2011 survey results by Kathy Cripps on the Council's Firm Voice Blog.

Of the firms surveyed, 70% reported final 2011 revenues will be higher than 2010 earnings. The Council projects a 10% overall increase, with consumer products, healthcare, and energy leading the growth.

Growth of integrated communication approaches is creating more business opportunities. According to the Council, almost half of all firms reported that new business opportunities were "more integrated than ever," with fewer than a quarter reporting that their opportunities consisted mainly of traditional public relations.

Firms anticipate higher budgets in 2012. More than one third of firms (35.5%) predicted bigger budgets, compared to 21.8% at the end of last quarter.

Hiring is up in public relations jobs, especially in middle-management ranks. More than 60% of the firms surveyed reported an increase in staffing compared to one year ago. Nearly two thirds of firms experienced an increase in account executive and account supervisor positions, while 46% reported growth in vice president and senior vice president ranks. Roughly half of the firms also indicated growth in entry-level positions.

And what does the future hold? The Council's survey results predict growth in social media, business-to-business, corporate communications, and issues management.

Digesting all of this data, I'm hopeful that the job market will improve for last year's communication graduates and for the new crop of graduates in 2012. I'm also proud that my organization, Marist College, remains at the forefront in preparing students for the public relations profession.

Next fall Marist's School of Communication and the Arts will begin to implement a new undergraduate curriculum in public relations. We anticipated many of the trends described above, and will be offering our communication majors a specialized track and more coursework in integrated communication, marketing, business applications, social media, corporate communications, and risk communication. Our school will also begin offering in the fall a new master's program in integrated marketing communication. Our graduates will be ready to step comfortably into their professional careers and lead the way in innovation once they complete these degree programs.

For more information about the School of Communication and the Arts degree programs, visit the school's Web pages for a Bachelor of Communication (Public Relations), Master of Arts in Integrated Marketing Communication, and Master of Arts in Communication.

Also, click "It's Hot in Here -- Results From the Council's Latest Industry Survey" to read the entire report of the Council's Q4 survey.

Here's to a successful 2012!

Happy 2012

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I've been away from blogging while working on end-of-the-year projects at the U.S. Army War College, celebrating the holidays, spending time with family, and catching up on projects at home in New York.

I am returning to my desk at the War College on January 17 and hope to publish another post soon. Meanwhile, best wishes for a pleasant, peaceful, and productive 2012.

Regards,

Mark