This article provides organizational charts and brief descriptions of the public relations (PR) offices operated by Boston University, Webster University, and Austin Peay State University. The descriptions focus on staff size, staff titles, staff organization philosophy, strong and weak points, and advice for PR people in similar-size offices.…

Discusses the important features of a successful public relations internship program. Considers the academic preparation, the academic structure, and the administrative procedures necessary for deploying a successful internship program. (HB)

Seven simple ways for college fund-raisers to recognize donors successfully are outlined, illustrated with the experiences of colleges, universities, and other organizations. Institutions are urged to thank donors accurately, publicly, privately, frequently, appropriately, innovatively, and sincerely. (MSE)

This article presents an interview with Robert Deware, associate professor of organization behavior at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, who offers advice on setting up and managing a university public relations office. It focuses on issues of office size, staffing, structure, and strategy. (MDM)

A public relations audit can show how efforts measure up, whether they are parents programs, media relations, or faculty/staff communication. A sample inventory form is included. (MLW)

Alumni administration is an activity of a college designed to allow alumni to exercise their rightful role in the governance and support of the institution. It is an asset of tremendous worth to the president and can help meet the various problems of higher education today. (MSE)

An institutional advancement administrator draws on experience running an office with limited resources to offer suggestions to others, including putting basics in place first, then fine-tuning them, and developing a do-everything publication, a plan for special events and fund-raising, an annual giving structure, and a strong core of volunteers.…

Steps in developing a major college donor weekend program are outlined, including goal setting; tailoring events to reflect the best the institution has to offer; drafting an appropriate guest list; calculating costs; dealing with common problems such as low attendance, damaging media coverage, and guest list errors; and getting feedback. (MSE)

Five suggestions are made for moving the college public relations program toward more personal communication: (1) study the communication successes and strategies of others; (2) reassess current communication methods; (3) begin building a small-scale constituency-relations program; (4) establish a contact database; and (5) put the best principles…

David Clavier advances four arguments for placing administrative control of public relations education programs in the hands of journalism departments: (1) tradition, (2) professional associations, (3) essential skills, and (4) resources. However, there is a trend away from teaching public relations in journalism departments because such curricula…

Several programs devised by the Glasgow College of Technology to forge links between the institution and the surrounding community are outlined, and the difficulties encountered in bridging the traditional town-school gap are discussed. (MSE)

Strategies used at Oberlin College to justify a budgetary increase for alumni programs are outlined, along with suggestions for budgetary planning. Alumni program coordination with other important programs--such as recruitment, career exploration, and attracting experts to campus--is suggested. (MSE)

College and university public relations professionals have cultivated faculty volunteers and developed new ways to bring the classroom to alumni by involving faculty in homecoming, reunion activities; requesting nominations for alumni awards; informing faculty how their participation affects former students; socializing with faculty to discover…

The experience of Stanford University (California) in developing the institutional image it portrayed on the World Wide Web is discussed. Principles and practical suggestions for developing such an image through layout and content are offered, including a list of things not to do on a Web page. (MSE)

As college alumni become more diverse, alumni associations are finding that special interest groups are increasingly popular. Gay, ethnic, and racial clubs may spark controversy and require that alumni administrators address concerns tactfully while nurturing the affinity group. (MSE)