The CEPR Evaluation team will be on campus January 27-29, 2015 to review the Public Relations program offered by the Department of Communication Arts in the College of the Arts at VSU. CEPR is Certification in Education for Public Relations and is a voluntary program that allows an outside evaluation team to review and endorse an academic program in PR. If the program meets certain standards, it will be re-certified. CEPR is a rigorous process that makes sure that the public relations program is current and offers content that will prepare students for a career in public relations.
The academic reviewer is Dr. Juan Carlos Molleda, “a professor and chair in the Department of Public Relations and director of the online master’s program in Global Strategic Communication of the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida (UF). He is also an affiliate faculty of the UF Center for Latin American Studies and a Fulbright Senior Specialist. Adding to Dr. Molleda’s outreach to the professional community, he currently acts as member of the board of trustees of the Institute for Public Relations and a founding member of its Commission on Global Public Relations Research. Also, he acts as Latin American liaison of the Public Relations Society of America’s Certification in Education for Public Relations (CEPR)” (http://www.worldprforum.com/juan-carlos-molleda/). The professional reviewer is Ms. Judy Phair, “president of PhairAdvantage Communications, LLC, an independent consulting firm founded in 2002. She is a seasoned public relations executive with extensive experience in strategic planning, branding, global public relations and marketing, media relations, fund raising, and legislative relations. Judy was 2005 President and CEO of the 22,000-member Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the largest organization of public relations professionals in the world” (http://www.phairadvantage.com/who-we-are/judy-phair/).
“PRSA, through its Educational Affairs Committee, conducts the certification review process for undergraduate public relations programs. The review is administered by two accredited PRSA members, a full-time educator and a APR, Accredited in Public Relations,-credentialed practicing professional, who examine your school’s curriculum, resources, facilities and university support of its programs. The two and one-half day review begins with meetings with faculty, the department chair, the dean, PRSSA officers, student agency officers, the PRSSA Professional Adviser and public relations students. Reviewers call local professionals and PRSA members to learn their evaluation of graduates from the public relations program and to ask former students about their educational experience” (http://prssa.prsa.org/about/Certification/).
Our PR faculty includes Assistant Professor Dr. Joe Mitchell, Ph.D., APR., Assistant Professor Dr. Shirley Serini, Ph.D., APR., Temporary Lecturer Mr. Bob Dowd, M.A., and Lecturer Mr. Norman Earls, M.A.