Graduate program at Syracuse Univ. blends public relations with business management

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Oct 14, 1996 by Harting, Don

SYRACUSE--Call them "spin meisters." They're the 40-odd students in Syracuse University's new midcareer graduate program for public-relations professionals.

Patti Jordan is one of them. The Toronto resident visited the Salt City in August to attend a week-long academic residency, one of three to be held this year.

Near the end of an intense week of classes, during a farewell luncheon at the University Sheraton, Jordan and her fellow students were invited to voice comments about their experience so far.

"This is real learning," bubbled Jordan, senior public-affairs consultant for the Bank of Nova Scotia. "This is what I've been looking for."

While not all of Jordan's classmates were quite so satisfied, the two year-old program appears bound for success. It is financially viable, attracting paying customers from as far away as Hong Kong and Brazil. Its blend of public-relations theory with basic business tactics has proven popular among Canadians. About a quarter of the students hail from our neighbor to the north, where graduate education in public relations can be hard to find.

Yet the program exerts little appeal locally. Only two Central New York employers have agreed to spend the roughly $18,000 required in tuition for one student to complete the 36-credit sequence.

One lucky local is Jonathan Shaw, manager of corporate communications for Carrier Corp. in DeWitt. Shaw sees the two-year program as an opportunity to expand his base of public-relations knowledge. "After you've been doing the same thing for 10 years, you reach the point where you want to reach a higher plateau," he said.

Shaw sounded grateful for the opportunity to rub shoulders with his counterparts at big corporations like Hoechst Celanese Corp. in New Jersey and Hallmark Cards, Inc. in Missouri. But other students who spoke out during the luncheon seemed less satisfied. Simon Kennedy, chief of creative services for a transportation division within the Canadian government, complained of frustration because classes did not leave enough time for discussion of concepts presented. Ruth Edgett, a self-employed public-relations specialist from Ontario, delicately suggested that she knew more about some subjects than her instructors.

"We're learning from the professors," Edgett said. "But they're also learning from us."

Ironically, the Master of Science in Communications Management Program also comes up a bit short in the area of communications. As of late August, only one instructor was using a home page on the World Wide Web--an increasingly common distance-learning tool on many American campuses. An apologetic Robert Colley, director of distance education for the university, explained that it can be expensive to free up faculty for training in new technologies, and some faculty are "not inclined" to train themselves. Colley voiced his hope that eventually every instructor will have his or her own home page.

Students say they are attracted by big names like the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Actually, the Maxwell School is only marginally involved. The program is administered by Newhouse and most faculty members are employed either there or by the less-famous School of Management. Two legitimate stars do grace the faculty roster, however. Elizabeth Toth of Newhouse holds a doctorate from Purdue and edits the Journal of Public Relations Research. Neil Katz, the lone Maxwell instructor, directs that school's Program in Nonviolent Conflict and Change. He's written more than 30 books, and his consulting clients include Bristol-Myers Squibb, Mutual of New York, and the Internal Revenue Service.

Students also study with less famous but beloved teachers like Badr Ismail, formerly chairman of the accounting department at S.U.'s School of Management. Ismail's knack for communicating basic accounting to nonmath majors was evident during the relaxed luncheon. The instructor was present and his students enjoyed calling out his favorite classroom sayings, including this one: "Accounting Rules]"

The young program is a brainchild of Maria Russell, who joined the Newhouse faculty full-time in 1986 after nearly 20 years of public-relations work. Russell chairs the school's public-relations department, She has a long list of Central New York connections, including past service as vice president for communications of the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce. She also co-authored a book on media behavior after the Pan Am Flight 103 disaster.

One of her first tasks as director of the program was to find faculty willing to teach. This was not easy, because the courses are offered at odd times, at least compared to the traditional academic calendar. What's more, midcareer adults have a tendency to ask more difficult questions than teenage undergraduates.

In designing the curriculum, Russell sought guidance from a number of professionals in the public-relations industry. Together they form an eight-member advisory committee. Some work for big agencies like Burson-Marsteller of New York City, others for large corporations like Motorola of Schaumburg, Ill. Russell meets formally with the committee twice a year, once in Syracuse and once in New York City. She also stays in contact by telephone.