BOARD OF ADVISORS

The Board of Advisors of The Plank Center consists of leading academics and practitioners who provide counsel, direction and oversight to the Center regarding strategic plans and programs to support its leadership mission. In 2007, members of the Board included:

• Dr. Bruce Berger, professor and chair of the Advertising & Public Relations Department at UA; former corporate VP of public affairs at Whirlpool Corporation.

• Keith Burton, president, Insidedge—GolinHarris, a leading public relations firm, and former general manager of GolinHarris’ headquarters in Chicago.

• Dr. Culpepper Clark, dean of The Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication,   University of Georgia, and former dean of the University of Alabama’s (UA) College of Communication & Information Sciences.

• E. Ronald Culp, senior VP and managing director, Ketchum Midwest, and former senior VP of public relations and government affairs, Sears, Roebuck & Co.

• Ex Officio, national president of the Public Relations Student Society of America. Incumbent: Brandi Boatner, public relations graduate student at the University of Hawaii.

• John “Jack” Felton, APR, Fellow PRSA; VP of public relations (ret), McCormic Spice; president and CEO Emeritus, Institute for Public Relations.

• Dr. Karla Gower, director of the Center, and associate professor in the Advertising & Public Relations Department at UA.

• William Heyman, president and CEO, Heyman Associates, and trustee of the Institute for Public Relations

• Dr. Linda Hon, professor and senior associate dean of The  College of Journalism & Communications, University of Florida, and former editor, Journal of Public Relations Research

• John “Jack” Koten, senior VP of corporate communications (ret), Ameritech; board member, Arthur W. Page Center; co-founder and past president of the Arthur W. Page Society.

• Richard (Rick) Looser, Jr., chief operating officer, The Cirlot Agency in Jackson, Miss., and Outstanding Alumnus in Public Relations, UA.

•  Gary McCormick, APR, Fellow PRSA; director of public relations, Scripps   Emerging Networks, and president of the Public Relations Society of America Foundation.

• Betsy Plank, APR, Fellow PRSA; chair of the Center; former corporate and public relations agency executive and past president of PRSA.

• Maria Russell, APR, Fellow PRSA, and professor of public relations and director, New Initiatives in Public Relations Education, Syracuse University.

•  Dr. Loy Singleton, dean of UA’s College of Communication & Information Sciences.

• Andre Taylor, VP of communications (ret), Alabama Gas Corporation; past president, UA’s National Alumni Association.

Members of the Advisory Board for The Plank Center (l-r): Jack Koten, Andre Taylor, Jack Felton, Dr. Culpepper Clark, Betsy Plank, Dr. Bruce Berger, Debra Shriver, Dr. Linda Hon, William Heyman, and Ronald Culp.