The senior-level public relations class, Public Relations Campaigns CMPR 460, challenges
small groups of students to use what they have learned in the classroom and apply
that information and skills to deal with real-life clients both on and off campus.
This incorporates a service learning component to the class.
In the spring of 2007 a group of four students coordinated the public awareness campaign
portion of a campus-wide project aimed at increasing participation in a town of Sylva
recycling program. Students worked with the town manager, a city commissioner, and
public works director to design and implement some ways to increase recycling.
Students crafted a brochure, newspaper ads and participated in the annual Greening Up the Mountains celebration in downtown Sylva. They coordinated with other departmental classes for radio public service announcements and feature stories; students in Radio Production II created the radio ads that ran on area stations. Download “Chipmunk” Sylva Recycling radio ad (mp3).
An innovative activity was a recycled fashion show with the theatre department where participants took recycled materials and made clothing or updated basic fashions into contemporary outfits. A panel of judges determined winners in various categories. Winners were presented trophies designed and made by the art department.
Other clients include REACH of Jackson County; the Bridge Park Project in downtown Sylva; Western’s Gender Conference; Western’s Department of Theatre; and Western in Washington, D.C.