Fifteen board members and guests were in attendance on Sept. 25, 2015, to hear about the priorities and future of the School of Communications and to share their professional insight with students and faculty.
Photos of the board’s visit are available on the school’s Flickr page.
At a luncheon, advisory board chair and “60 Minutes” senior producer Michael Radutzky praised Elon’s faculty and staff for being forward-thinking and innovative in the midst of significant change in the communications environment. Likewise, Radutzky commended the School of Communications students for their passion, adding, “The students are so focused and energized and voraciously dialed into their education.”
“I cannot overstate, on behalf of the board, what a remarkable place that Elon is,” he added. “We are reminded of it every time we come.”
For the luncheon program, four students shared their learning experiences over the summer: Michael Bodley ’16 about the News21 “America’s Weed Rush” investigation, Shakori Fletcher ’16 about her ad sales internship at NBCUniversal, Matt Lee ’16 about his experiences as a production intern at ESPN’s “SportsNation,” and Tyler Meacham ’16 about the improbable viral success and copyright complications of Twisted Measure’s arrangement of musician Sia’s song “Chandelier.”
In the board’s morning session, Communications Dean Paul Parsons discussed several of the school’s priorities, including monitoring the rollout of the new media analytics and communication design majors and gauging the level of student involvement in student media and organizations.
In the afternoon session, the board interacted with university architect Brad Moore on the construction project, heard a recap of the communications fundraising campaign from Vice President Jim Piatt of University Advancement, and received an update on the university’s marketing study from Vice President Greg Zaiser of Admissions and Financial Planning.
Michael Radutzky (chair), senior producer for “60 Minutes” and executive producer of creative development at CBS News
Roger Bolton, president of the Arthur W. Page Society, the professional association for senior public relations and corporate communications executives
Brad Brinegar, chairman and CEO of McKinney, an advertising agency based in Durham
Ann Camden, senior vice president of G&S Business Communications, an independent public relations agency based in New York City with offices in Raleigh
Tim Franklin, president of The Poynter Institute, a journalism education and training center in St. Petersburg, Florida
Bill Kanarick, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Sapient Corporation, a global marketing and technology services company
Jack MacKenzie, president and CEO of Mn8 Creative and a consultant for Magid Generational Strategies, a leading research-based strategic consulting firm
Sunshine Overkamp, chairman of Overkamp Overkamp-Smith, a consulting firm in Atlanta that specializes in strategic planning and crisis communications
Lee Rainie, director of internet, science and technology research for the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan “fact tank” based in Washington, D.C.
Craig Waller, president at Pace, a global content marketing agency based in Greensboro
Evan Welsh, senior director of corporate affairs at SAP, a market leader in enterprise application software in Philadelphia
Ken White, news director at WOWK-TV, a CBS affiliate in Charleston–Huntington, West Virginia
Norby Williamson, executive vice president for production, program scheduling and development at ESPN headquarters in Connecticut
Invited guests at the fall meeting were:
Travis Lusk ’05, vice president of broadcast solutions for Sorenson Media in New York City
Bruce K. Rosenblum, former executive vice president for Warner Bros. Media Research Insights and founder of the Time Warner Media Lab in New York City