Elon University School of Communications

Kerry Windle
16 May 2016
Problem/Opportunity
The public relations field is full of women. While this may sound great for a society transitioning
from male dominated work places to increasing levels of gender equality, a lack of diversity in
any field can be detrimental.
This can be equally problematic for communications schools. Because the field is mostly
women, schools naturally are too. Not only does a lack of diversity hurt the learning
environment, but it can also be a factor in schools not getting accredited. The Accrediting
Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, or ACEJMC, evaluates
communications schools on nine standards. Under the diversity section, ACEJMC states, The
unit demonstrates effective efforts to help recruit and retain a student population reflecting the
diversity of the population eligible to enroll in institutions of higher education in the region or
population it serves, with special attention to recruiting under-represented groups.
Elon University, a medium sized liberal arts school in North Carolina, has an accredited
communications school. With a large population of women at Elon University, the School of
Communications is already at a disadvantage in recruiting male students. To recruit
underrepresented groups, males in Elons case, the School of Communications must change the
perception of male underclassmen business students. Males usually do not choose to go into
communications because they see other fields, such as business, as more manly. To begin getting
more males in the communications school, the School must change this perception. By
encouraging underclassmen male business students to minor in communications, or even just

take a class or two, it will set a precedent for future male students who may decide to major in
communications.
Public Profile- Conner College Boy
Conner College Boy is an 18-year-old Elon University freshman. He declared a major in
business because he does not know what he is passionate about, but knows he can make money
in the business field.
Conner comes from an upper middle class
family in a small suburb in New England. His
father is a successful businessman, while his
mother is a teacher. Conner has always looked up
to his father, which contributed to his decision to
declare a business major.
Like most millennials, Conner would rather
pursue a job in a field that he loves and make a
decent salary rather than making a little bit more in a field that he does not enjoy. That being
said, money is still a major factor in his career choice.
Conner likes to fix problems. He thinks he might be able to do this in the business world,
but he is not sure. Because he is a freshman, he has more time than upperclassmen to attend
events. Right now, his biggest goal is to find his place at Elon. This is a challenge because Elon
has so many options.
A secondary goal of his is to figure out what exactly he wants to do with his life. He may
only be a freshman, but he likes to have a plan. He feels like all of his friends know what they
want to do and already have connections in their field.

The School of Communications can help Conner achieve his goals. As a fixer, a job in
strategic communications could be a great fit for him. While he most likely will not make as
much money as he would if he majored in business, Conner will still make a decent salary if he
is passionate and does his job well.
In addition, there are so many organizations within the School of Communications. The
School can help Conner find his place through student media like Elon Local News or
professional organizations such as PRSSA.
Objectives
1. To raise awareness of how business and communications work together by male
underclassmen business students by 60% by April 2017.
2. To have 40% of male underclassmen business students say that they know different
possibilities in the field of communications by April 2017.
3. To have 20% of male underclassmen business students say that they will consider taking
COM100, Communications in a Global Age, by April 2017.
Programming
Theme/Message: Communications enhances business careers.
Action/Special Event:
The School of Communications should host an event during the spring semester. During the fall
semester, first-year students are too busy trying to get acclimated to Elon, which would result in
a lower turn out. By the beginning of their second semester, many first-years start to think more
about what they want to major in, especially since they typically take their first or second
introductory class into what they think they want to major in.
The event will be a luncheon with successful male Elon alumni who majored in
communications. This will allow male students become even more interested in communications.

By hearing how communications made alumni successful, undergraduate male students thinking
about majoring in business may become more interested in communications. Personal
relationships are key for fairly impressionable, young students. Meeting successful people in the
field will show that they can be successful with something other than a business major.
To get students to attend, the event will focus on how communications complements
business. If the School just publicized the event as information about communications, the key
public would probably not even consider the event because there is nothing in it for them. By
combining the communications information with how a communications minor will help
business students, those who think they want to major in business will attend because it could
help them further their career.
Some key alumni will include:

Ben Rawitz, strategic communications, Tom Bradys confidante

Joey Accordino, Digital Media Coordinator at ESPN
Kevin Kline, Emmy award winner for his work as managing editor at

KXAN
Steven Ebert, fellowship with WPP advertising agency
Bryan Holland, director for corporate sales, media relations, and

broadcasting for Potamac Nationals

Ryan Sweeney, director of metrics and analytics at Ignite Social Media

Controlled Media:
Before the event, social media will be used to not only promote the event, but also raise
awareness of how business and communications work together. The School of Communications
will post short biographies or quotes from alumni who will attend talking about either how they
have combined business and communications in their careers or just something that students
would be interesting in about their career.

In addition, at the event, each attendee will receive a printed handout with information
about each special guest speaking at the event. This will include additional information, such as
how the Elon School of Communications helped them get to where they are and examples of
jobs they can get with each major. This will be beneficial because it will help students recall
some of the information that they learned.
Uncontrolled Media
The Pendulum, Elons student led newspaper, will be the most influential uncontrolled media.
Because so many successful alumni will be at Elon, the Pendulum will be likely to write about
the event both before and after. After the School of Communications announces the event, a story
in the Pendulum would be ideal not only get more attendance for the event, but also to help raise
awareness and knowledge of career possibilities.
Additionally, there will be a story in The Pendulum covering the event. This will give
even more information about what was said to members of the key public who could not attend.
Then, if the event is so successful that the School of Communications sees a significant increase
in male students, a story could be written about what the students hope to do. When students read
information from other students who changed their mind about communications (especially
about those who have decided to combine business and communications), they will be more
likely to change their perception as well.
Evaluation
During the fall semester, the School of Communications will administer a survey asking
underclassmen male students questions such as:

How interested in communications are you?

What do you think communications degree graduates do?
Would you consider taking an introductory communications course?

The same survey would be administered the week after spring break, which is right before
registration for fall courses. Changing perceptions by registration time is key for the success of
the plan.