Race in the PR Classroom Rebrands for 2023
Jan. 12, 2023 — Gainesville, Fla. – This year Institute for Public Relations (IPR), in partnership with the Public Relations Society of America’s Educators’ Academy (PRSA EA), is rebranding the virtual discussion series, Race in the PR Classroom (RPRC), to Diversity in the PR Classroom (DPRC). Rebranding from RPRC to DPRC enables IPR and PRSA EA to expand these conversations beyond race to address the challenges and opportunities in diversity, equity, and inclusion as they evolve for students and educators.
The series began in 2020 as an episodic discussion for educators to learn how to incorporate race into the current state of public relations education. Since 2020, IPR and PRSA EA have led more than 20 discussions and featured more than 70 different speakers from all sides of the industry. In 2022, the University of Texas at Austin Moody College of Communication joined as a sponsor for the series.
“I am excited to continue the work of the IPR Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (CDEI) by curating stellar panelists and conversations that impact the industry,” said Anetra Henry, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at IPR. “Diversity in the PR Classroom will allow for a broader range of topics and a deeper level of connection to the work of the CDEI.”
PRSA EA Immediate Past Chair, Dr. Nneka Logan, spearheaded the decision to rebrand the initiative to Diversity in the PR Classroom as a path to include more expert practitioners, assist more educators with resources, and ensure more students are prepared when they enter the workforce.
“We are pleased to extend the popular ‘Race in the PR Classroom’ series to broader topics of diversity,” said Dr. Kelly Bruhn, APR, Immediate Past Chair of PRSA Educators’ Academy. “Each session offers an opportunity to explore important topics and connect our members with resources to support them in the classroom as they build future communication leaders.”
The first episode of DPRC will be held on Thursday, January 26, 2023, at 12 PM EST. Registration is free, and the playback of each episode may be found on IPR’s website and YouTube channel. To learn more about the previous sessions, guests, and additional resources, visit IPR’s Diversity in the PR Classroom page.
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ABOUT THE INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS
Founded in 1956, the Institute for Public Relations is an independent, nonprofit foundation dedicated to the science beneath the art of public relations™. IPR creates, curates, and promotes research and initiatives that empower professionals with actionable insights and intelligence they can put to immediate use. IPR predicts and analyzes global factors transforming the profession and amplifies and engages the professional globally through thought leadership and programming. All research is available free at www.instituteforpr.org and provides the basis for IPR’s professional conferences and events.
ABOUT PUBLIC RELATIONS SOCIETY OF AMERICA
PRSA is the nation’s largest professional organization serving the communications community. The organization’s mission is to make communications professionals smarter, better prepared and more connected through all stages of their career. PRSA achieves this by offering its members thought leadership, innovative lifelong learning opportunities to help them develop new skills, enhance their credibility and connect with a strong network of professionals. The organization sets the standards of professional excellence and ethical conduct for the public relations industry. PRSA collectively represents more than 30,000 members consisting of communications professionals spanning every industry sector nationwide and college and university students who encompass the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). Learn more about PRSA at www.prsa.org.
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Media Contact:
Brittany Higginbotham
Communications Associate
Institute for Public Relations
brittany@instituteforpr.org
