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DOCUMENT RESUME SP 037 687 ED 415 181 London, Bill, Ed. AUTHOR The Role of Information Officers in Schools of Education. TITLE American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, INSTITUTION Washington, DC. ISBN-0-89333-160-0 ISBN 1997-00-00 PUB DATE NOTE 101p. One Dupont Circle, N.W., Suite 610, AVAILABLE FROM AACTE Publications -1186 ($12 for AACTE members, $15 for Washington, DC 20C nonmembers). Collected Works - 0 teral (020) PUB TYPE EDRS PRICE MF01/PC05 Plus Post,. e. Administrator Attit.0 -is; College Administration; *Deans; DESCRIPTORS Higher Education; .rs:ervice Teacher Education; *Public nmunity Relationship; *Schools of Relations; School ( Education; Small Cc _eges Communications Occi 'anions; *Public Information Officers IDENTIFIERS ABSTRACT This monograph contuns eight paper that explore the role (1) results of a nationwide and value of information officers, f,)cusing on: survey of educational institutions that examined the percentage of SCDE's represented by public information officers and the type of representati:a dean...' perspectives on th:, usefulness of inZormation officers; offered; (2) (3) information officers' roles in different institution:.! levels; (4) information officers' roles during times of crisis or fundraising; and (5) special challenges faced by SCDE's in smaller institutions. The titles of the papers are: "Information Officers: !Al Needs Them?" (Bill London); "Surveying Dorothy A. Witter); "In Their Own Words: the Deans: What's Happening Today?" The Deans' Perspective on Informaticx: Officers in Schools of Education" (Robert A. Cobb, Jane Close Conoley, Gary R. Galluzzo, Sylvester Kohut, Jr., Roderick J. McDavis, Bernard Oliver, Rodney Reed, Jerry Robbins, and John Officer in Building Internal Support" Taylor); "The Role of the Informatio7, . (Ken McConnellogue); "Within the Uni-zersity: Gaining Respect in Your Own Backyard" (Kay M. Hyatt); "Taking Mersages to External Audiences" (Leanne South and Phillip West); "In Fund-rasing and Crisis Campaigns: When Deans Really Need Information Officers" (Fill London); and "Sigh, No Silver: A Memo from the Lone Information Officer" (Kathryn O'Dell-Thompson). An appendix presents a sample deans' survey. (Sr.) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** The ole of Information Officers in Schools of Education Edited by Bill London U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. for AL.. ACADEMY LEADERSHIP 11111 AACTE DEVELOPMENT PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL IN OTHER THAN PAPER COPY HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) The ri ole of Information Officers in Schools of Education Edited by Bill London ACADEMY for MI LEADERSHIP AACTE DEVELOPMENT 3 The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education is a national, voluntary association of colleges and universities with undergraduate or graduate programs to prepare professional educators. The Association supports programs in data gathering, equity, leadership development, networking policy analysis, professional issues, and scholarship. The opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this monograph do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. The AACTE does not endorse or warrant this information. The AACTE is publishing this document to stimulate discussion, study, and experimentation among educators. The reader must evaluate this information in light of the unique circumstances of any particular situation and must determine independently the applicability of this information thereto. The Role of Information Officers in Schools of Education may be ordered from: AACTE Publications One Dupont Circle, Suite 610 Washington, DC 20036-1186 WWW: www.aacte.org Single copy for AACTE members: $12 For nonmembers: $15 Add $5 for shipping and handling Copyright © 1997 by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN No: 0-89333-160-0 4 Contents Acknowledgments Information Officers: Who Needs Them? 7 Bill London Surveying the Deans: What's Happening Today? 11 Dorothy A. Witter In Their Own Words: The Deans' Perspective on Information Officers in Schools of Education 33 The Role of the Information Officer in 49 Building Internal Support Ken McConnellogue Within the University: Gaining Respect in Your Own Backyard 59 Kay M Hyatt 67 Taking Messages to External Audiences Leanne South 6-Phillip West In Fund-raising and Crisis Campaigns: When Deans Really Need Information Officers 81 Bill London Sigh, No Silver: A Memo from the Lone Information Officer 89 Kathryn O'Dell-Thompson APPENDIX: A Sample Deans' Survey 101 104 About the Authors 5 Acknowledgments This monograph was created when Susan Cimburek of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education asked me to write it or, in my capacity as coordinator of InformED (the national network for information officers representing colleges of education), to edit a compilation of chapters from my fellow communication professionals. Through the generous support of the staff of AACTE, especially Susan Cimburek and Elizabeth Foxwell, and the members of InformED, my valued colleagues who shared a vision for our collective future and reinforced it by volunteer- ing to write a chapter, the book concept became the reality you now hold. My thanks to all of them. The inspiration for InformED came not from me, although I would like to claim this idea as my own. My dean, Bernard Oliver, conceived this network, recognizing both the need and the purpose for InformED, and allowed me to have the time and funding to make it a reality. It has been much fun, and I thank him for that. Bill London 6 v Acknowledgments I nformation Officers: Who Needs Them? Bill London As you might have guessed, this book is essentially an ad. At the invitation of AACTE, a group of information officers who work in and/or for schools, colleges, or departments of education (SCDEs) have written this advertisement for their profession. The authors of this monograph are members of the national network for those information professionals, InformED (the American Association of Information Officers for Colleges of Education). Exploring the role and value of the information officer is the theme of this monograph. The first chapter reveals the results of a nationwide survey of educational institutions in an attempt to understand the percentage of SCDEs represented by public information professionals and the type of representation offered. In the second chapter, nine education deans provide their perspective on the usefulness of this position. The next three chapters (3,4, and 5) focus on the information officer's role in the different institutional levels: within the college (helping build the unity and the community that inspires and directs faculty and staff), within the university (helping construct the visibility and reputation that lifts education SCDEs from the back benches to the front row of the institution), and with the audience external to the institution (helping provide the accountability along with the image). London: Information OfficersWho Needs Them? 7 7 The role of the information officer during times of crisis or during fund-raising campaigns is the basis of the next chapter. The final chapter summarizes the special challenges faced by SCDEs in smaller One consistent theme institutions where one surfaces in this monograph: information partnership. professional is shared among all parts of the institution. One consistent theme surfaces in this monograph: partnership. That's the basis of the best relationship between dean and information officer, a mutual appreciation of skills and perspectives. In addition, information officers facilitate partnering relationships with all constituencies external to the college, providing another way to link the college with the world outside its doors and building the podium from which to share the positive messages that ensure institutional survival into the next millennium. Two trends seem destined to flourish as the new millennium begins. First, information will remain the most-traded commodity, the coin of the realm, and the source of power. Second, traditional authorities and institutions will continue to be doubted and second-guessed, and will need to both justify their use of resources and do more with less. Some institutions will separate themselves from that boisterous information marketplace, relying instead on reputation and decades of government-enforced monopoly functions. Those institutions which refuse to play the media game will suffer loss of prestige and loss of resources. And many of them will be SCDEs. Institutions that prepare teachers are especially vulnerable since Americans care so passionately about their children and their educational system. For decades, Americans have heard The Role of Information Officers in Schools of Education 8 that something is really wrong with their schools, and the educational institutions that don't heed this clarion call, care about reform, or communicate concern will find themselves at risk. Bypassed. Marginalized. Replaced. On the other hand, educational institutions that publicly share both concern and positive actions to improve education will become a magnet for support: private financial funds, public awareness, and state money. One difference between these two options is a planned effort to get the message out and sustain it in the public arena, beginning with an administrative commitment and culminat- ing in the continued support for an information officer. The information officer (aka the public relations director, media relations manager, news and information coordinator, or some similar combination) won't save an inept institution any more than a new coat of paint will hold up a sagging building. But in combination with real efforts for meeting modern educational needs, the information officer can ensure that those "good works" are noticed and appreciated, building an institutional reputation as a participant in the search for solutions to serious societal problems and helping resolve our national crisis of confidence in educational reform. More information about InformED, the national network for information officers representing SCDEs, is available through the organization's website, <www.vpds.wsu.edu/ InformED/>, or from InformED at Washington State Univer- sity, College of Education, Pullman, WA 99164-2114, 509/335-7091. TEL: London: Information OfficersWho Needs Them? 9 urveying the Deans: What's Happening Today? Dorothy A. Witter Who provides public relations representation for U.S. schools, colleges, and departments of education (SCDEs) and how is that representation organized? Deans, chairs, and directors in SCDEs bring to their positions their own unique perspectives and experiences concerning public relations and communications for their institutions. In many cases, these deans, chairs, and directors have inherited a public relations or communications program that may or may not be able to be changed. In other cases, colleges and schools have the opportunity to hire a communications person of their own who will report only to that college or department and will be physically housed within that college or school. Others have a person assigned to them by a university- wide public relations or university relations program. For a few programs, individuals other than public relations or communication professionals are responsible for handling communications. To understand more fully how communication professionals can assist these colleges and schools in attaining their goals, we must first examine some of these perceptions held by the administrators to determine what they perceive as impor- tant tasks or skills of these professionals. To answer those questions and others about the current role of communication officers in U.S. schools, colleges and departments of education, an electronic mail survey was sent in February 1997 to a random sample of deans, chairs, and Witter: Surveying the Deans 11 10