Are you an ASCE member who is interested in incorporating public relations into your Section/Branch and professional activities? Have you thought about attending a PR University workshop?

ASCE’s annual national PR University workshop is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 7 at ASCE Headquarters in Reston, Va.

For those of you who might not be familiar with the program, ASCE created PR University, a public relations training program for civil engineers, as part of its goal to bring effective public relations strategies to the ASCE Section and Branch level.

During the highly interactive, one-day workshop, ASCE’s Communications staff shares techniques for effective communications, including media relations and outreach, through presentations and hands-on PR activities. A guest speaker from the media will also be on hand to give attendees the newsroom perspective.

All attendees receive a PR Toolkit reference guide to help bring the tools from the communications classroom to the civil engineering profession. Part ‘how-to’ manual and part resource guide, this Toolkit provides a practical introduction to public relations for civil engineers. So far, nearly 200 ASCE Section and Branch members have participated in PR University!

Attendees willing to serve as their Section or Branch PR Coordinator may be eligible for a workshop “scholarship.”

Sound interesting? Want to attend? Email me for an application or more information. Applications are due by the close of business on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Space is limited, so submit your application early.

Have you already participated in PR University? How have you used what you learned? Share your experiences in the comments section.

Karen Albers
Manager, State Public Relations

Since PR University launched in March 2007, more than 160 participants have ‘graduated’ from the 100-level workshop. Now we’re beginning to develop more advanced, 200-level courses to help graduates continue building their knowledge base and expand their local public relations programs. We’re hoping you’ll share your ideas on the topics you’d like to learn more about!

As you may remember, the 100-level PR University class is an introduction to public relations for civil engineers. It covers topics ranging from ‘what is news’ and news release basics to spokesperson training. (For a refresher, you can view the workshop’s agenda here.)

Currently, we’re in the early stages of developing 200-level courses to build on the knowledge graduates gained from the 100-level course. These courses could be half-day workshops, Webinars, teleseminars…you name it! They will dive into more in-depth public relations topics that you can use in your Section or Branch activities.

So what do you want to learn more about? Is there a public relations project you’d like to learn how to tackle? A public relations tool you’d like to learn how to use?

For example, a 200-level course could revolve around an in-depth discussion on how to write op-eds or letters to the editor, or how to work with different types of media outlets. Or, we could talk about how Sections and Branches can develop and expand community relations and outreach programs.

We’d love to hear your ideas for course topics! Even if you haven’t participated in a PR University 100-level workshop, don’t hesitate to share your course ideas with us! Send me an email or leave your ideas in the comments section below.

Karen Albers
Manager, State Public Relations