Digital / Media
New Course Preps Students for Environmental PR
By Jackson DeMos on January 22, 2010 7:37 AM
The USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism has created an environmental public relations course - the first of its kind at a major research university - in which students learn about the rapidly changing field of environmental PR while gaining valuable skills applicable to careers in the industry.
The class, which started Jan. 12, is taught by Megan Jordan, senior vice president and co-founder of the communications firm MS&L’s global ecological network.
The course studies the pivotal role public relations played in thrusting environmental issues onto the public agenda. It also examines the evolution of the environment as a national concern, the factors that led to that breakthrough and the PR industry it helped produce.
“This course came out of a need for young environmental PR talent,” Jordan said. “The new employees in this industry really needed a lot of training and education before they could focus on client work. This course trains students for a skill set that is in demand. As I’m inviting guest speakers to this class, they’re asking for my students’ resumes.”
The class covers environmental activism, public policy and public affairs, corporate sustainability, agency specialties, influencer marketing, advanced technology and digital PR. Students are expected to the class with a basic understanding of complicated environmental issues, including advanced technology, policy and regulatory concerns.
“This class is an important piece in our overall strategy of providing students with a core knowledge that applies at a macro level across the entire PR field, along with a series of highly specialized courses demonstrating the disciplines of work and areas of expertise,” said Jerry Swerling, director of the USC Annenberg Strategic PR Center. “This class is particularly timely and much-needed because of the unique nature of expertise required for people to go into environmental public relations.”
“The class, with fewer than 10 students, gives the students practically one-on-one communication with top-caliber guest speakers,” Jordan said. “The students have the opportunity to form relationships with our guests and ask [them] direct questions.”
She said employment opportunities in the industry will continue to grow for students and recent graduates.
“Start-up companies need marketing sophistication to take them to the next level,” she said. “It is clear that many consumers’ purchases are influenced by a ‘green halo.’ Anything that drives sales is looked at closely, and an increasing number of jobs in the green PR space are sprouting.”
Jordan has 20 years of experience in developing and managing multifaceted public relations campaigns in her role at MS&L. She has led environmental initiatives on behalf of a range of clients, from Fortune 500 corporations like General Motors to nonprofit organizations such as Green Technology and Heal the Bay.
Leveraging her knowledge of consumer and influencer-driven public relations, Jordan develops comprehensive marketing programs engineered to propel reputations and cement credibility with key opinion leaders and target audiences.
Jordan earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations from USC and her master’s in mass communications from California State University, Northridge.
TAGS: humanities
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