AEJMC Public Relations Division

... Early-Bird Registration -- Registrations must be postmarked by July 5 to qualify for the discounted conference registration rates ($115 for members, $215 for nonmembers, $50 for member students, $90 for nonmember students, and $50 for retirees). Download the registration form here.

... Program -- Scan the full agenda for the division's conference program in the PRD Summer 2004 Newsletter. (Adobe Acrobat Reader required). ... Preview the abstracts for papers in public relations, other divisions ... The complete AEJMC convention program is now online, organized by day.

... Hotel Deadline -- Reserve your room at the Sheraton by July 3. See the AEJMC convention information page or download the reservation form

... Special Events (reservations required) -- Pre-convention social on Tuesday, August 3 (reserve by July 23 through Lisa Fall, lfall@utk.edu) ... Edelman Lunch on Friday, August 6 (limit of 85 guests on a first-come, first-served basis -- reserve through Chuck Lubbers, lubbers@ksu.edu)

... Other Activities -- Learn how you can be a convention buddy.

Questions or comments about the program?

Send an e-mail to Teresa Mastin, PRD Vice Head and convention program chair.

Convention Updates

PRD Buddy Program Launches Competition

Getting involved in the Public Relations Division's convention Buddy Program is now more valuable than ever.

The Buddy Program connects graduate students with public relations professors based on academic and nonacademic areas of interests. To encourage more participation by faculty and graduate students, a prize will be awarded to the PRD member who successfully recruits the most student and/or faculty Buddy Program participants.

"Recruiters" - who can be faculty or graduate students - are asked to send a list of their prospects to Lois Boynton, UNC-Chapel Hill at lboynton@email.unc.edu. The list will be compared to the list of participants to determine who takes home the coveted prize.

Graduate students and PRD faculty are invited to participate in this year's Buddy Program at the national conference in Toronto. There was a small but quite powerful group of participants last year, and we look forward to pairing up even more graduate students and faculty this year.

In its seventh year, the Buddy Program is a great opportunity for PR faculty to mentor graduate students and a chance to meet up-and-coming peers. For graduate students this is a fabulous opportunity to get the inside scoop about jobs, meet professors with similar research interests, exchange teaching ideas, learn how to balance teaching and research interests or meet the author of one of your textbooks. And for graduate students about to hit the job market, this is a great networking opportunity.

The Buddy Program is informal. Graduate students, all you need to do is meet with your faculty "buddy" perhaps over coffee or cocktails or even between program sessions. Your faculty buddy could become a valuable mentor as you continue your graduate education in public relations. And for professors, the Buddy Program is a great way to get involved in the PR division and meet AEJMC members.

Professors and graduate students, if you're interested in participating, please send an e-mail to Lois Boynton, lboynton@email.unc.edu. In the e-mail, please include the following information:

Your name:

Graduate student or faculty:

School affiliation:

Summer address:

Phone number:

E-mail address:

List of three areas of academic interest in the field of PR:

List of three areas of interest outside of PR:

List of three areas of non-academic interests (hobbies/leisure activities):

You'll receive an e-mail a few weeks before the conference with your buddy's name, e-mail address and areas of interests. Before heading to the conference in Toronto you may drop your buddy an e-mail to introduce yourself and arrange a time to meet, or you can call your buddy during the conference and make arrangements to meet then. Graduate students should consider bringing their vitas and lots of questions. Faculty should bring their experiences and advice.

If you have any questions about the Buddy Program, please contact members of the Graduate Liaison Committee:

Lori Boyer, LSU, lboyer@lsu.edu

Lois Boynton, UNC-Chapel Hill, lboynton@email.unc.edu

Amanda Hall, Georgia, ahall@uga.edu

Cassandra Imfeld, Sun Trust, cimfeld@comcast.net

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