New York Times bestselling author Chris Grabenstein earned his BS in communication in 1977 from the College of Communication and Information. While attending the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, the Chattanooga native acted in dozens of plays and contributed to the Daily Beacon as an editor, columnist, and cartoonist. It was this experience that propelled him to a stellar professional career.
Welcome back to Rocky Top!
The faculty and staff in the School of Advertising and Public Relations welcome you back for the spring 2019 semester.
We have a lot of exciting activities planned for the new year including the AdClub New York City trip, an internship and job fair, AdClub and PRSSA meetings, UT Social Media Week, and a three-day trip to Atlanta’s top public relations and advertising organizations.
We love to hear about your internships, study abroad experiences and your classes. I hope you will stop by the office to say hello.
Here are some important dates for spring 2019:
January 15 Welcome Back Coffee – ADPR suite, 9:30-11:30 a.m. get snacks and coffee
January 21 MLK King Jr. Day, University Closed
February 1 ADPR Scholarship Applications Due, see emails to follow
February 11 CCI Annual Research Symposium, in the Communications Lobby
February 13 Jumpstart Your Major, mandatory for all 310/340R students, see emails to follow
February 26-28 UT Social Media Week, see emails to follow
April 10-13 ADPR Development Trip to Atlanta, see emails to follow
April 19 Spring Recess, University Closed
April 15 CCI Honors Convocation for award and scholarship winners
May 9 CCI Graduation
Maureen Taylor
Professor and Director
School of Advertising & Public Relations
MaureenTaylor@utk.edu
Finding the right career path as a college student is a tough journey and looks different for everyone. For Matt Myers, a senior studying advertising, his journey included attending the advertising trip to New York City.
The AdClub is a student-run organization that hosts an annual trip to New York City to provide students the opportunity to tour advertising agencies, network with industry professionals and explore the city. Myers decided to attend the trip to New York because he wanted to better understand agency life, build relationships with companies and decide if he truly desired to pursue an advertising career in New York after graduation.
One aspect of the New York trip that makes it unique to other university trips is the freedom offered to the students during their week in the city. Although there is a schedule to tour specific agencies, students are given the opportunity to explore New York throughout the day, try new restaurants, and interview with companies on their own. Myers spent his free time attending a Broadway show and interviewing for summer internships.
For Myers and many other students in attendance, one of the most eye-opening parts of the trip was discovering the endless possibilities that advertising has to offer. “I discovered careers that I never knew were possible,” said Myers. “We met a woman whose sole job was brand activation. This trip opened our minds to career opportunities that we didn’t even know existed.”
One of the main reasons that students are given the opportunity to tour agencies is to expose them to the culture of each organization. Myers explains, “Every agency has a specific personality. Instead of just wanting a job after college, it’s important to understand the culture. This trip taught me how to ask questions about the organization’s dynamic, so I can find the best place for me.”
The New York trip gave Myers and many other students the clarity they were hoping to find. After graduating this spring, he hopes to move to New York and begin his career in agency life, specifically in entertainment marketing.
Sally McMillan: Interim Director of the School of ADPR, written by Cara Hunter
After 20 years at the University of Tennessee serving as a faculty member, associate dean in the College of Communication and Information and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Dr. Sally McMillan will serve as interim director of the School of Advertising and Public Relations starting on June 1, 2019.
McMillan did not always plan on pursuing a career in academics. After changing her major many times, McMillan graduated with a degree in English from Southern Adventist University and went on to teach high school students for two years. After realizing that teaching at a high school level was not her calling, she went on to work in book editing and receive a master’s degree in public relations from the University of Maryland. Later, she moved to Wisconsin with her husband where she was hired by a software development company. Starting in the public relations department, McMillan quickly moved up to vice president for sales and marketing and later president of the company. However, McMillan questioned whether she wanted to work in technology for the rest of her life.
Because she had enjoyed adjunct teaching at the college level and had a passion for research, she decided to attend the University of Oregon, where she received a doctorate in mass communication and society. Upon graduation, McMillan taught advertising at Boston University but quickly realized that she did not want to live in Boston forever and applied for a faculty position at the University of Tennessee. McMillan started as an assistant professor and taught for five years before being recruited to serve as the associate dean in the College of Communication and Information. Five years later, she was recruited to be Vice Provost for Academic Affairs where she focused on developing a strategic plan for undergraduate students.
McMillan took advantage of her time in an administrative role to create positive change for undergraduate students. She helped develop One Stop and uTrack and revised curriculum to make it easier for students to graduate on time. Her work, along with the work of many others is reflected in the fact that the four-year graduation rate increased by 22 percent in 10 years.
In 2015, McMillan left her administrative role to return to teaching. She has taught an assortment of advertising and public relations courses and researches a variety of topics. When asked about which career achievement she is most proud of, McMillan states, “Being able to do research that helps students succeed in college has been the most rewarding. Teaching is great because I can work directly with students to help them learn, but being able to step back and research structural changes that can improve student success is the work that I feel can make the most broad-reaching difference.”
Throughout her many years as a communication practitioner, technology executive, professor, researcher, and administrator, McMillan’s list of achievements does not go unnoticed. This past October, McMillan was awarded Alumna of the Year by the Southern Adventist University Alumni Association for her outstanding professional contributions to the fields of education, administrative leadership, communication and research. McMillan plans to take her experience and love for students into her new role as interim director to continue leading the School of Advertising and Public Relations in the right direction. See more about her award here.
The School of Advertising and Public Relations is hiring an intern for the Spring 2019 semester. This is a paid internship for registered University of Tennessee students. Applications are due to adpr@utk.edu by November 5, 2018.
School of ADPR Marketing/Communication Intern
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Duties Include: Social media ad creation Social media campaign creation Social media strategy Brand building Streamlining website Content creation Work with coordinator and social media intern Attend weekly meetings |
Skills Needed:
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Requirements:
About the School of ADPR:
Located in the College of Communication and Information, the School of Advertising and Public Relations houses two fo the most popular majors at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The Advertising and Public Relations programs offer Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees. The programs are nationally and internationally recognized and accredited for the quality of their scholarship and instruction.
Our program offers opportunities beyond the classroom that involve professional internships across the nation, study abroad in various countries, and school sponsored trips to network with industry leaders and alumni in New York, Nashville and Atlanta. With its nationally recognized educators and wide-ranging opportunities, the School of Advertising and Public Relations continues to be a program of excellence at the University of Tennessee, preparing students and scholars to become innovative leaders in their respective fields.
——————————————————————————————————————— If interested, email resume and cover letter along with examples of your social media posts or portfolio to adpr@utk.edu with the subject line: Student Intern
Doctoral Student Spotlight: Brandon Boatwright by Cara Hunter
On October 10, the Howard Baker Center hosted the US senatorial debate between Representative Marsha Blackburn and former Governor Phil Bredesen. While the debate took place, the university’s Adam Brown Social Media Command Center provided live social media analysis of the sentiment of the debate.
Dr. Courtney Childers and Brandon Boatwright oversaw the social media analysis of the debate. Boatwright is a doctoral student in the College of Communication and Information and the assistant in residence of the Adam Brown Social Media Command Center (ABSMCC).
A career in academia and research was not on Brandon Boatwright’s radar when he majored in journalism as an undergraduate student at Clemson University. During the early years of his education, he had full intentions of becoming a sports writer. It wasn’t until an internship caused Boatwright to be working long hours and late nights that he realized sports journalism was not his passion.
When Boatwright decided to go back to Clemson for his master’s degree in communication, technology and society, he was given the opportunity to teach. “When I was in the classroom with the students, I realized this is where I want to be,” recalls Boatwright.
After teaching at Clemson for four years, Boatwright came to the University of Tennessee to pursue his doctorate while continuing to follow his passion for teaching and research. “UT had everything I was looking for in a school,” says Boatwright. “I found myself conducting research with some of the best faculty members I have ever met, using innovative resources to study public relations and making an impact on the engaged undergraduate population that I teach on a daily basis. I found a community at UT.”
Research is one of the many hats Boatwright wears on campus. He spends a lot of his time supporting research of various faculty members. “The ADPR community is awesome because I get to work with people who are much smarter than me every single day,” states Boatwright. He specializes in research that focuses on how an organization takes a stand on controversial issues, its decision-making process and the implications for the publics they target.
Boatwright also spends a lot of his time working in the social media command center. After working in Clemson’s social media listening center, this role of various tasks is familiar to Boatwright. Depending on the day, Boatwright is either working on the ABSMCC blog, giving demonstrations about the software to various courses so they can incorporate it into the classroom, analyzing the sentiment of social media posts regarding current events or facilitating research for other faculty members in the college. “It is such a robust tool, and it’s so rewarding that I get to help students feel confident and competent while using it,” says Boatwright.
Boatwright’s time at UT has helped him expand his skill set while discovering his true passion for teaching and researching. “I don’t think I would get a better doctorate education anywhere else,” states Boatwright. “UT was the best place for me.”
#SheCan Campaign Comes to Life written by Cara Hunter
When students spend an entire semester working on a project, they long for their ideas to be utilized for a real organization. For Alexandria Dodson and her fellow group members, Kayley Green, Maci Mays, Madi Mayfield, Bridgette Givand, Madeleine Constantine, this dream became a reality.
Dodson is an alumna of the School of Advertising and Public Relations and graduated from the University of Tennessee in December of 2017. During her final semester at UT, Dodson completed Public Relations Campaigns, a course that brings together all the skills that public relations majors have learned over the years in order to create a campaign for a real client.
Dr. Courtney Childers taught campaigns that semester and was tasked with choosing the client. The campaigns professors are often approached by a local nonprofit or small business looking for new ways to improve its communication efforts. Dodson and her fellow classmates were presented with Girl Talk, Inc. as their client for the semester. Girl Talk is a local nonprofit, founded by UT alumna Denetria Moore, that exists to empower young women to become their best selves by reducing the likelihood of teen pregnancy and helping them to advance educationally.
After recently celebrating its 10th anniversary, Girl Talk was looking to expand in donations and volunteers in order to serve more girls in the community. After learning more about their client, the various campaign groups worked towards creating a campaign that would help Girl Talk reach multiple audiences.
While all of the groups created campaigns that would benefit the client, Dodson’s group went above and beyond. By taking the time to interview the parents of girls being assisted by Girl Talk and going to the school programs to interact with the girls, Dodson better understood the client’s needs.
Dodson’s group’s campaign consisted of a new website, various branding materials, and a social media campaign titled #SheCan. “We wanted to focus on getting people inspired by the message of Girl Talk,” recalled Dodson. “Everyone talks about what she can’t do. We wanted to talk about what she can do.”
Following the campaigns groups’ final presentations to the client, Girl Talk immediately began implementing Dodson’s ideas into their organization. “Their project was bold and really captured the mission and vision of Girl Talk. #SheCan summarizes why we do what we do,” said Moore.
This social media campaign continued to transform when Girl Talk presented its #SheCan 2018 Fashion Show Gala consisting of professional women and Girl Talk girls walking the runway with poise and confidence.
“It was so rewarding to see our ideas come to life. #SheCan is so much more than a hashtag. It is a movement to empower young women,” said Dodson.