Dear Public Relations and Social Media Academic Community,
It’s time to step up to the plate.
The higher education world has been flipped over night in light of what is happening to our field related to the coronavirus. We are practicing safe measures in social distancing, and making sure we are there for our students and colleagues. In addition, most of us have become online instructors overnight. I have been teaching for ten years, so I am feeling confident of how I will be approaching my classes.
However, I noticed something over the past week that was interesting, and it has motivated me to write this post.
Professors, not academic organizations, are stepping up. I have been amazed to see the great work my fellow colleagues have been doing to help each other. The social media professors group I manage has been filled with professors from all over the world sharing, engaging, and discussing key issues related to how to handle the crisis.
However, there are many missing organizations who are not part of the discussion and have either not participated at all, or have at the minimal level. I am surprised by some – but not others. All of these organizations – especially those in Communication and PR – of course are very present in making sure professors and students know about their conferences, webinars, features, awards and activities – but have been silent on providing resources or even acknowledging that professors may need some help. In a time of crisis, actions speak louder than words.
To the PR academic and professional organizations and nonprofits out there – this is the time to step up. Provide resources, offer assistance, and be engaged with the entire community – not just the programs where you have connections, have a set payment partnership plan, or your best friends work there. We all need to come together at this time to help the industry, profession, and community move forward.
“Leading programs” are missing from the conversation. PR Week highlights the “Best College PR programs” each year – where are these schools? Others like the Plank Center highlight Best PR educator for their contribution to the field. What about those who say that they are part of the top PR programs in the USA? Where are these professors and programs in taking a leadership role in this and helping out the field?
If you said they cannot be found – you are right. NONE of these programs are taking a leadership role in addressing this crisis or becoming a resource, which is sad. Perhaps we need to rethink these rankings on what constitutes as a “best” program or what it means to be the PR educator of the year.
Teaching research in PR needs to be valued at the SAME level as other research. I, along with some of my colleagues, have been told SO many times over the years our work – teaching pedagogy research – was not up to the same standard as other forms of research. Depending on where you go – you are told “well, teaching research is easy, but not as rigorous as other forms of PR research.” Or, it is not “theoretical” in nature as other forms of research.
Well, I think we can say in 2020 – it is imperative that we invest and support teaching research because – we are all now part of ZOOM university together!
In this case, we will *really* get to see who are the professors that can adapt, respond, and rise to the challenge for creating a strong and effective learning environment – and those who cannot. Imagine if you are a student paying $70k for an education, and not getting the results as you would at another school, with a third of the cost? How would you feel?
Exactly. You are not paying for what you get.
I will imagine teaching research will indeed be perceived differently after this crisis – since it is some of our best practices, perspectives, experiences and insights that are making an impact on what we are doing right now in our community.
What can we do?
I’ve listed a lot of things that I have seen in the industry that needs to be addressed. This can only do so much – but I wanted to share my overall observations. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
What can we do to move forward as a community. Simply – be there as a resource. Lead by example and share what assignments, activities, and resources you feel would be helpful for others. Be generous with your insights. Understand how others are feeling, and see if you can help. Share your lessons how your assignments worked or did not work in the digital space. Empathize with others – knowing that this is a stressful time for everyone – and see what we can do to minimize the level of uncertainty educators and students are feeling across the board. Thank those who are sharing resources and doing their part to help you. Read and cite teaching research in your own work – or, if you have never done teaching research – start. Ask those of us who are doing teaching research to collaborate and share ideas on a teaching research project. We are also still expected to do research during this time – we are a very welcoming group of researchers.
Am I looking for any awards or public acknowledgement? No, I am not. I want to make an impact on the field and help my community – both locally, and digitally. If each of us took this approach, imagine what we can all do together to solve these challenges.
Time will tell on what will happen in our industry, but we can definitely say – our industry and profession will change. Programs will have to adapt, and our research perspectives will as well. Something that will always remain the same is simply this: Actions will speak louder than words. Those who remain at the sidelines and not help – we will remember.
Hope you all are doing well and stay safe! Have a great day.
Best Wishes,
