This creative project has explored Grambling State University Football Program and Media Coverage. Grambling State University has a highly successful football program due mainly to the efforts of Coach Eddie Robinson and Public Relations Director, Callie Nicholson. Coach Robinson has been head coach at Grambling State University for the past thirty-five years. During this time he has successfully coached some of the greatest players in the game. His lifetime record of game wins is exceeded only by Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. One hundred and sixteen former Grambling State University players have gone on to professional football.In addition, this creative project has informed the writer of the three things it takes to make a winner; an organizer, a builder and a promoter. The name of the game is football. The objective is winning. At Grambling State University the football program is, and will continue to be, successful.

This study examined the role and function of public relations in public higher education institutions by focusing on the messages being communicated by four public research-oriented universities. This study was designed to determine if and how these universities communicate their public good responsibility and how that communication is perceived by two constituent groups—higher education reporters and state legislators. The researcher used two qualitative methods: thematic analysis and in-depth/elite interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the universities’ mission and vision statements, strategic plans, legislative appropriations requests, presidential speeches, and 800 press releases (200 from each of four universities), to determine whether references to the public good were either present or absent in messages the universities disseminated during 2006 and 2007. In-depth/elite interviews were used to obtain the perspectives of the chief public relations officers at each of the four public research-oriented universities about their public relations strategies and communication goals. Higher education reporters covering these respective institutions and members of the legislature in positions of leadership on committees involved with higher education policy and funding issues were also interviewed to understand their perceptions about the universities. This study found the following 24 references to public good: the core concepts of research, teaching and public service; the benefits the universities create as engines of economic development; diversity; the recruitment and retention of faculty; the university as a center for arts, entertainment and cultural events; faculty and student achievement; student career enhancement; and institutional prestige, among others. The study demonstrated that public research-oriented universities are using public relations strategies and techniques to construct and distribute messages to their key constituents about the benefits they provide to the State and its citizens. Major findings also include the observation that higher education reporters cover higher education as a statewide beat which focuses on the state’s two flagship or Tier 1 universities—the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University and the institutions in the reporters respective cities. In addition, the higher education reporters write about “issues” related to higher education rather than institutions per se. The study also found that State Legislators only recognize the two Tier 1 institutions as research institutions and their perspectives about these institutions are driven by how these universities are funded. / text

This study examined the public relations practices-- the concept, structure, functions, goals and objectives, procedures, and standards of performance--at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. The study concluded that the public relations practices provide an effective, well-organized, well-planned and well-executed program based on formal goals and objectives, definite philosophy and purpose, and criteria for measurement of effectiveness. Although the program has a good sense of direction, it lacks focus, largely because of the mingling of public relations and fund-raising responsibilities in some staff positions and a lack of separate standards of performance for each staff member. Recommendations to strengthen the program include separate and distinct public relations and fund-raising responsibilities in each staff position and standards of performance for each staff member.

Incorporation of social media during a crisis provides many benefits for universities, including opening two- way communication with stakeholders, informing the public quickly with updated information, and reaching a wide range of audiences. This case study aimed to explore whether Ball State incorporates social media into their crisis planning and what are the main reasons of using social media. Also, this case study aimed to see whether the university differentiates between crisis management and an emergency response. The researcher incorporated an online survey, Interviews, and documents to obtain detailed information about using social media in Ball State University. The results found that Ball State incorporates social media especially Twitter in their crisis planning. The study found that Ball State differentiates between a crisis and an emergency. / Department of Journalism

This thesis examined how Pennsylvania State University administrators managed the Sandusky sex abuse scandal in 2011. Coombs’ (2006) Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) strategic response strategies were the theoretical basis for this thesis. This study found Penn State primarily demonstrated the corrective action response strategy. This content analysis also uncovered the dominant tone of Penn State’s messages, which was a traditional public relations tone, as defined by Fitzpatrick and Rubin (1995). This content analysis focused on newspaper articles between November 5, 2011 and January 22, 2012, which were collected from The New York Times and State College’s local newspaper the Centre Daily Times that were reporting on the Sandusky crisis. / Department of Journalism

本研究はわが国の国公私立大学経営における理念の浸透をテーマとし、浸透のメカニズムおよび浸透策とその効果について、国公私立大学743校を対象としたアンケート調査と教職員個人を対象としたアンケート調査等により、体系的に初めて明らかにしたものである。研究の結果、特に私立大学においては理念の浸透が組織および職員個人に対してプラスの効果をもたらし、経営において重要な役割を果たしていることを確認した。 / This study focuses mainly on the effectiveness of pervasiveness of management philosophy in Japanese universities—both national and private universities. The mechanism is analyzed, in which the management philosophy pervades effectively, and the way how the mechanism would work is revealed through a systematic approach which is based upon the result of questionnaire survey directed at 743 Japanese universities as well as teaching and clerical staff who work for these universities. Throughout my considerations from various angles, it is confirmed that the pervasiveness of philosophy strengthens the staff's sense of belongingness and also that the pervasiveness itself plays an important role in school administration especially in the case of private universities. / 博士(政策科学) / Doctor of Philosophy in Policy and Management / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University