Commission on Public Relations Education Forms Partnership with IPR

The Commission on Public Relations Education (CPRE), an international professional organization dedicated to advancing excellence in public relations education and the industry, has entered a partnership with the Institute for Public Relations (IPR) to further advance its research activities globally and assist in formalizing CPRE’s structure. CPRE issued an RFP for potential organizational partners in March, and selected IPR following review of proposals by a variety of professional associations.

IPR and CPRE will implement an agreement to coordinate activities and resources, and will pursue 501(c)(3) status for CPRE so it can maintain independent governance of its operations. In addition, the PR Council will support CPRE and IPR in these efforts, lending the strength of its PR agency members to address the profession’s growth and aid CPRE’s role in developing curricula and standards that prepare students for professional success.

“This is a red-letter day in CPRE’s 48-year history,” said Anthony D’Angelo, APR, Fellow PRSA, the Commission’s co-chair and professor of practice at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications. “In order to advance and accelerate the research we do to keep college curricula relevant to the needs of the profession, we needed a partner that would enable us to become a legal entity, develop our resources and expand our organizational structure. We’re excited for the potential this partnership with IPR brings, with the support of the PR Council.”

“Our Selection Committee was deeply impressed with the knowledgeable insights and spirit of collaboration IPR brought to this process, and the creativity demonstrated in involving the PR Council and its president, Kim Sample,” said Stacey Smith, APR, Fellow PRSA, and the Commission’s other co-chair. “We’ll now be in a position to more actively solicit grant funding for our research, as well as sponsor more practitioner/educator interactions to enable more continuous and responsive curriculum development.”

“IPR has long supported the work of CPRE and we are absolutely thrilled to partner with them and work with the PR Council to help support CPRE’s mission to continue to advance excellence in public relations education,” said IPR President and CEO Dr. Tina McCorkindale, APR.

Established in 1973 by the Public Relations Society of America and the public relations division of AEJ (now the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, or AEJMC), the Commission has conducted ground-breaking research and published major reports that have impacted both the profession and public relations education. Its 65-member Board includes representatives of 20 major national and international public relations-related organizations and industries, as well as individual educators and public relations professionals.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.