The annual Dr. F. H. Teahan Diversity award was recently presented to the Wayne State James S. Measell chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America. Chapter President Meaghan Priebe was in attendance at the PRSSA National Conference on Oct. 16 in San Francisco and accepted the award on behalf of the chapter.
The award, which stands for exemplifying outstanding commitment to diversity in membership and programming, was one of many presented to students representing chapters of PRSSA from all over the nation.
?Positive national recognition for Detroit?s public relations prowess is welcome,? Mary Henige, director of social media and digital communications for General Motors and the chapter?s professional adviser, said in a university press release. ?We?re a huge diverse city of professionals, so it?s no surprise that Wayne State?s PRSSA chapter was recognized for its commitment to diversity.?
The WSU chapter did just that and more when it teamed up with PRSA Detroit, General Motors and the WSU Department of Communications to organize the Ofield Dukes Diversity Summit: Building Dialogue with Diverse Publics, which played a key role in receiving such a distinguished award this year.
That event was held on Feb. 16 in the McGregor Memorial Conference Center and was host to more than eight speakers and panelists from the Detroit Free Press, Henry Ford Health System, WSU director of the Journalism Institute for Media and Diversity, communications manager of Chevrolet and more.
The six-hour-long summit held the theme of ?Embracing Diversity? and highlighted local public relations campaigns that target diverse populations and diversity issues in crisis communication.
PRSSA has been a national pre-professional organization since its establishment 1968. In 1983, a few students, under the supervision and support of professor James Measell, started the WSU chapter.
?We had just started the chapter at WSU when I was an undergraduate, and yes, I was one of the founding members,? public relations professor Shelly Najor said. ?I support my students as they do their thing. Sometimes it?s encouragement, and sometimes its tough love. Either way, it?s support, and I am proud of them.?
Najor has been the chapter adviser for the past 13 years and was at the conference in San Francisco with Priebe.
?It didn?t hit me until they said they were announcing Teahan awards? Priebe said. ?After hearing the announcement, I turned to Shelly and said, ?Hey we applied for this ? We could, like, win this!??
Priebe?s pride in hearing her school?s name, in front of many other PRSSA chapters was ?an unexplainable feeling? she said.
?I can confidently say that I am proud to be a part of such an active chapter and grateful of all the support we have here at Wayne State,? Priebe said.
PRSSA newsletter editor-in-chief Therese Padgham said students don?t have to be an organization member to ?like? them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter. The PRSSA WSU chapter has been recruiting new members since August and will be holding another membership drive during the winter semester.
For further information on becoming a member of the James S. Measell Chapter of PRSSA at WSU, visit www.wsuprssa.org.
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