Suggests strategies for developing a new college president's image, including thorough preparation; immediate contacts with trustees, students, faculty members, alumni, and key community figures; a focus on early successes in the key areas of fund raising and student recruitment; developing an on-campus presence; and strategic time management. (DB)

Successful campus public relations requires: (1) segmenting the mass audience into categories according to demographics, interest, lifestyles, and other factors; (2) analyzing how members of each segment respond to various messages and media; and (3) designing a campaign tailored to specific segments of the general audience. (MSE)

The experiences of a university president who loves fund-raising are described. Supporting institutional missions, philanthropy as an American custom, competition, the satisfaction of seeing grants work, and the fellowship of development professionals are discussed. (MLW)

The six-stage diffusion process, with choice of the right media, makes a vital strategy for public relations because it goes beyond informing to stimulating action. (MSE)

The public's increasing frustration with many social and economic issues is finding a target in higher education. So far, higher education has not adequately anticipated or responded to these high-profile problems. College and university public relations specialists would do well to expend some effort on anticipating problems and planning to…

The development and carrying out of a comprehensive advancement program covering development, alumni relations, public relations and publications within 60 working days is discussed. The calendar is divided into three 20-day segments. (MLW)

Institutional advancement office needs a communication strategy for interpreting the retrenchment effects on the institution. Fourteen guidelines for communication about retrenchment are provided. (MLW)

College production of a college newsletter for planned giving prospects is compared to production by a vendor in terms of advantages (it projects character, permits control, promotes credibility, provides connection, and produces confidence) and disadvantages (it preempts calling, demands copy, requires competence, adds costs, and brings…

New postal rates are structured in such a way that colleges can save money on both individual letters and large mailings if they do some planning and some extra work. Letter size, accurate addresses, ZIP+4 codes, prebarcoding, and presorting are important components of a cost-effective mailing system. (MSE)

A study of content of seven major daily newspapers found coverage of higher education (excluding athletics) in 1990-92 higher than in 1987-89. Most commonly covered were students, faculty and research, budget and finance, and race relations. Editorial comment focused on cost and access. Article length remained relatively stable. (MSE)

A chart of 40 alumni-development database systems provides information on vendor/Web site, address, contact/phone, software name, price range, minimum suggested workstation/suggested server, standard reports/reporting tools, minimum/maximum record capacity, and number of installed sites/client type. (DB)

The challenge of turning someone's negative feelings into positive ones is discussed. Eight suggestions for addressing criticism are provided, with examples drawn from several colleges. (MLW)

With increased media scrutiny has come the need for better public relations in higher education. Some rules and practices for crisis communications are presented, including: make sure the staff speaks one language, review what can and cannot be said, help reporters out, treat reporters fairly, be accessible, etc. (MLW)

An effective first step toward creating new media opportunities is internal education. These include encouraging top college administrators to involve the public relations department in pre-planning; increasing access to newsworthy, appropriately targeted stories; and educating faculty about effective media relations. (MLW)

Experience at Washington University (Missouri) illustrates the importance of careful media relations planning, including pinpointing what the institution wants to accomplish, establishing ground rules, and working with the institution's communications team to draw up a media relations plan. Planning steps are outlined. (MSE)