As the students of Kean University near graduation, the reality of the real world’s expectations begin to set in. No more textbooks, lectures or PowerPoint presentations. No more pop quizzes, midterms or finals. Students will enter the professional realm with nothing but a college degree and personal experience under their belts.

Thankfully for the students of Kean University’s School of Communication, Media and Journalism, they have dedicated professors that are constantly urging them to develop new skills and gain more experience. One of these professors is Jeremiah Sullivan.

Sullivan inherited a public relations (PR) empire from his predecessor, Professor Suzanne Schwab, who is no longer with the university. This semester, Sullivan is preparing his students with real world experience in his class, PR Campaigns.

PR Campaigns can be found on KeanWise as COMM*3960*02. This particular course is classified as a Special Topics course. The former specialty topics course was Sports PR. PR Campaigns was manufactured by Schwab, however, Sullivan has been the primary pioneer behind the operation of the class. It is unknown if the class will remain under this course number, or if it will be syndicated into another commonly-offered class.

Students from the PR campaigns class 
Photo courtesy of Dr. Jack Sargent

For this class, Sullivan reached out to 13 non-profit organizations in and around the Union County area to participate in collaboration with the students of PR Campaigns. The students of the class have varying degrees of experience in PR, and for some, this was their first encounter with a hands-on exercise within the industry.

Sullivan introduced the students to the project on the first day of class, tossing them right into the action and creative process. Out of the 20 students in the class, he pre-selected seven teams compiled of two students, and two teams made up of three students. The student teams were then given brief descriptions about the cooperating organizations and were able to pick whichever one sparked their interest. A total of eight organizations were selected by the students to participate in this project.

A variety of different kinds of organizations are participating in this project, giving the students a wide array of experiences. Some big-name organizations include Habitat for Humanity, the Boy Scouts of America and The Westfield location of the Y, among several smaller organizations. The students of PR Campaigns will be working side by side with these companies to manufacture a complete PR campaign on their behalf.

The remaining participating companies are Community Access Unlimited, Caring Contact, the Westfield Art Association, The Elizabeth Destination Marketing Organization (EDMO) and the Westfield Foundation. All of these organizations have community-oriented causes and are ideal candidates for a PR cooperation.

This project will take place throughout the duration of the semester—along with 3 smaller-scale projects—and will be worth 40% of the student’s final grade. Sullivan has split the class into two parts, teaching of theory and application of theory. The information that students will receive in the lectures will help them when it comes time to orchestrate the final product of the campaigns. The final presentations will be taking place on Tuesday, April 26, 2016, and Tuesday, May 3, 2016. The cooperating organizations will be invited back into the class to witness the students’ work in completion on presentation days.

“It is my responsibility to keep the students accountable to their individual assignments, each other, and their client,” says Sullivan.

Sullivan tied some personal experience into this class. He loosely based the class off of his own undergraduate experience at Seton Hall University. He used his own campaign that he designed as an undergraduate as an example for his students. It appears that participating in a similar project when he was a mere undergraduate student helped drive Sullivan in a positive direction when it came to manufacturing this project. “Students will see the benefit,” he says.

Students from the PR campaigns class 
Photo courtesy of Dr. Jack Sargent

Another phenomenal opportunity provided by Sullivan and his gung-ho attitude is the possible collaboration with the six unchosen non-profit organizations. As the faculty advisor for Kean University’s chapter of the PRSSA, Sullivan decided to get them involved as well.

The PRSSA will have the chance to also cooperate with the organizations that were not picked by the PR Campaigns class to work with them on whatever PR platform they may need assistance with. Whether it be fundraising, advertising or just straightforward public relations strategies, Sullivan has equipped his students with the knowledge and capability to expand their horizons farther into the field of PR.

“[I intend to] keep the expectations with our partners measured. They need to understand that they are students,” says Sullivan on behalf of both the PRSSA and the PR Campaigns students.

 The future of the class is looking rather bright. Ideally, the class would become a permanent course in the curriculum of public relations students, whether it is a required class or an elective. The class has thus far proven to be a beneficial experience for students and provides them with excellent experience to begin their post-college career.

“[I would like] to continue working with non-profits and expand out of Union County,” says Sullivan when asked about the future of the PR Campaigns class.

Real, hands-on experience is what prepares college students for life after graduation. Classes like PR Campaigns, societies like the PRSSA and faculty like Sullivan and his supportive colleagues are an imperative part of proper preparation. Students will leave Kean University with the confidence and capability to take on any real-world challenge due to their experiences as an undergraduate.

One can never be over prepared for the future, and professors like Sullivan assure that the students of the communication and PR departments will have the utmost confidence to be competitive in a cutthroat industry such as public relations. Faculty is a gigantic part of students’ education, and students often take them for granted, not acknowledging that they too have a life outside of campus.

Hats off to Professor Jeremiah Sullivan, he has managed to juggle the responsibilities appointed to him, as well as help his students learn, grow and thrive in an educational environment. It is professors like him that students will remember for the duration of their careers. He is preparing the next generation of communication professionals through an experience that his students will remember forever.

Students from the PR campaigns class 
Photo courtesy of Dr. Jack Sargent