PROVING YOUR TALENT: THE CAPSTONE PROJECT
Spring 2007 was the first term in which we offered the
Practicum and Capstone project. This is an overview of the generally excellent
work by our students in the Capstone.
The Capstone course requires students to produce a major paper (approximately 50 pages) that
makes a contribution to the field of public relations and is deemed “publishable” by our faculty.
Students in the M.S. in Public Relations and Corporate Communications program have produced some
notable reports, including:
PAPER FOR UN GENEVA CONFERENCE
Lauren Isenman wrote a paper on the use of PR strategies by the public relations agency
Ketchum (working for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) to fight human trafficking
in the United States. The paper will be included in a United Nations publication, titled
Embedding Human Rights in Business Practice II, and presented at the UN Global Compact
meeting in Geneva in July 2007. John Doorley, academic director and clinical assistant professor,
was Lauren’s second author and Professor Helio Fred Garcia was the outside reviewer.
PR IN AFRICA
Megan McGinnis wrote a paper on the use of industrial theater in Africa to help accomplish
public health objectives, especially with respect to the prevention of onchocerciasis (river
blindness). We hope that a student in a future semester will continue this important work, which,
we believe, can lead to publication, and to healthcare progress in Africa. Megan has agreed to work
with that student or students, even though she has graduated.
PR IN THE CARIBBEAN
Keisha Holder wrote a paper on the integral role public relations plays in promoting tourism
and hallmark events in the Caribbean.
PR IN RUSSIA
Oxana Trush wrote a paper on how public relations in Russia is changing as companies there
enter the global marketplace.
PR IN CHINA
Mingzhi Yang wrote a paper on how public relations is being used in China to introduce
luxury brands, and how companies can cope with the business, ethical, and legal issues.
PR FOR A MALIGNED INDUSTRY
Julie Mlakar wrote a paper on the reputation of the pharmaceutical industry—an industry that
exists to improve health but with a reputation almost as bad as that of the tobacco industry’s—and
how public relations can be better used to improve it.
PR TO SAVE YOUNG LIVES
Kathleen Gibson wrote a paper on the effectiveness of communicating child passenger safety
messages.
CORPORATE BLOGS
Laurel Hart wrote a paper on the use of blogs by Fortune 500 companies. Approximately eight
percent of these companies have blogs, she learned, and her paper examines the inherent business,
legal, and ethical issues.
