UF Selected as PRSSA National Conference Host
(March 29, 2005) The Public Relations Student Society of America is proud to announce the selection of the University of Florida as the host school of the 2005 National PRSSA Conference. “Turn Up the Heat: Blending Voices and Perspectives” will be held at the Fontainebleau Hilton Resort on Miami Beach, Fla., from October 21 – 25, 2005. The annual event is expected to draw more than 1,200 students from across the country.
“This is THE must attend event of the year for students studying public relations across the country,” said Dr. Kathleen S. Kelly, professor and chair of the Department of Public Relations. “We are honored that our chapter was chosen to host this major conference.”
Last October, a four-person conference committee was formed by public relations junior Kara Czerniak. The committee, which is comprised of seniors Reynaldo Delgado, Daniel de Paz and Susan Medina, presented and competed against other schools at the 2004 National Conference in New York City, where they won the bid to host the 2005 National Conference.
“The project required an intense amount of work in the beginning, and it still consumes most of my day between classes and extra-curricular activities,” Czerniak said. “But I know that in the end, this conference will attract national attention to the university, and I’ll be proud of my contribution to that.”
Former Public Relations Student Society of America President Kathleen Larey Lewton is slated as the keynote speaker for the event.
This year, the conference committee is making an attempt to give conference attendees a more professional and dynamic networking experience than ever before. A series of new interactive panels will be offered and will cover topics such as starting your own business, salaries and money issues in the profession, culture in the workplace and diversity in internships. A new definition of diversity will be revealed and is to include diversity in ideas, geography, and public relations sectors, to name a few. The new theme encourages attendees to look at their world in a different light and examine new diverse ways to communicate with target publics. Because today’s world is constantly evolving, it is not only important but crucial to step outside of the diversity stereotype which is restricted to solely race and ethnicity, Czerniak said.
“This is an opportunity not only for our students to showcase their organizational skills, but for the College of Journalism and Communications and the University of Florida to demonstrate the top, national quality of the Department of Public Relations,” Kelly said.
To learn more about the 2005 PRSSA National Conference, hosted by the University of Florida’s PRSSA Alpha Chapter, please visit the official conference Web site at www.prssa.org/conference. The conference committee can be reached at .
The Campaign for the University of Florida