News 39 | DEV College of Media

Department of Advertising announces undergraduate public relations minor

August 22, 2016

The Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising will begin offering an undergraduate minor in public relations starting in the fall 2016 semester. The minor will require a minimum of 18 credits and will consist of three foundational courses about media and public relations and three additional courses on advanced topics in PR.

“Having a public relations minor represents an important next step as we increase what we offer to students who have an interest in PR,” said Dr. Jacqueline Hitchon, professor and advertising department head. “The advantage of having a PR minor is that it will appear on a student’s official university transcript, and employers everywhere understand what a minor is.”

While the minor will be located within the Department of Advertising, it is a cooperative effort between the Departments of Advertising, Communication and Journalism.

“Because PR spans the field of communication, students will benefit from the perspective they will receive in each of the departments,” Hitchon said. “We believe this will broaden their practical and theoretical understanding of public relations.”

The public relations minor will replace the PR certificate, which will be phased out over the 2016-17 academic year. Students who have already been accepted into the PR certificate will have the option of finishing the certificate or transferring into the minor provided they can complete the minimum-credit requirement prior to graduation.

A meeting about the public relations minor and how to transition from the PR certificate to the minor will be held early in the fall semester for current undergraduate students. The time and place of the meeting will be announced shortly.

In the meantime, interested students can visit the webpage for the public relations minor.

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Provost names interim dean

June 8, 2016

Interim Provost Ed Feser announced that Professor Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko has agreed to serve as interim dean of the College of Media, assisted by Professor and Associate Provost Bill Bernhard, who will become interim executive associate dean. The appointments were effective June 6 in “designate” status, while awaiting approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

Wojtek, who is currently serving as the dean of the Graduate College, is the Shahid and Ann Carlson Khan Professor of Applied Health Sciences. He holds a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of London and a Ph.D. in kinesiology from Purdue University. In his role as Graduate College dean, Wojtek leads campus efforts in setting policies, defining standards and enabling excellence in graduate programs, graduate research and graduate student life. He has extensive administrative and financial management experience as a former department head in Applied Health Sciences and now dean. He will continue to serve as dean of the Graduate College during the period of his appointment as interim dean of the College of Media.

Bill Bernhard, a professor of political science, is a specialist in international political economy. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in political science from Duke University. Like Wojtek, he is an experienced administrator, a skilled communicator and a careful steward of shared governance. He is a former head of the Department of Political Science and is currently associate provost for Faculty Development. He developed a good working knowledge of opportunities, issues and concerns in the College of Media through his recent service assisting the dean’s review committee. Bill will continue to serve as associate provost during the period of his appointment as executive associate dean.

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Sagers selected convocation speaker

April 4, 2016

Carol Hillsman Sagers ’79 BS Advertising, has been selected as the 2016 College of Media Convocation speaker.

Carol is the principal at CHS Marketing Consultants, a company she founded in 1996. Carol’s firm provides business development and marketing management services to clients that have included McDonald’s, Fashion Fair Cosmetics, Kraft Foods, L’Oréal, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kellogg’s, Chicago Park District, The Federated Group and Unilever. In addition to her consultancy, Carol is an Assistant Professor at American Intercontinental University, where she teaches business and marketing courses.

Carol worked seven years as Marketing Director at McDonald’s USA. While there, she led all of the national marketing efforts for the African American Consumer Market and efforts targeted to the Asian American Consumer Market. She was responsible for the development and implementation of integrated marketing communications programs that drove year-over-year-over-year business growth. Prior to consulting and her work at McDonald’s, Carol worked for Soft Sheen Products (now a division of L’Oreal) in positions ranging from Group Marketing Manager to Vice President of Marketing with responsibility for 13 brands and more than 20 people. Carol also worked in Brand Management at Kraft Foods and at the Quaker Oats Company.

She is a past National Chairman of the Mosaic Council of the American Advertising Federation (the largest national trade organization for advertisers, advertising agencies, and media companies) and a former Executive Board Member of the Association of National Advertisers. Her client-side work in the Advertising Industry has been notable and award winning, including the prestigious Industry Career Achievement Award from the American Advertising Federation. Carol also has been recognized as Working Mother Magazine’s “Working Mother of the Year;” and the Chicago Illini of the Year from the University of Illinois Alumni Association.

Carol is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., The Links, Inc., and Carats, Inc. She also serves on the Leadership Council for the College of Media at the University of Illinois.

In addition to her Advertising degree from Illinois, Carol has an MBA Degree from Washington University in St. Louis. She is married to her college sweetheart, Rudolph Sagers, Jr. (another Illini). They have two grown sons (Ryan and Randall) and live in Chicago’s southern suburbs.

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Klues Family Foundation makes gift to College

October 21, 2015

The College of Media is pleased to announce a $1 million gift from the Jack and Elizabeth Klues Family Foundation for scholarships in the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising in the College of Media at the University of Illinois.

The gift includes current use funds and a bequest. The proceeds will provide scholarship support to underrepresented students in advertising who have significant financial need. The scholarships will be for both internships and experiential learning opportunities. Funds will also be used to provide high school students with financial need scholarships to attend a College of Media summer camp on the Urbana-Champaign campus.

Mr. Klues, a 1977 advertising graduate of the College, began his career as an account executive in the media department at Leo Burnett. In 1996, he was part of the management team that created Starcom, a distinct, dedicated media services agency. Mr. Klues became the global CEO for Starcom MediaVest Group in 2000, making it the one of the largest of its type in the world. In 2003, following the acquisition by Publicis Groupe, he served as global CEO for Publicis Groupe Media (SMG and ZenithOptimedia). From 2007 until his retirement in 2012, he served as global CEO and Directoire member with oversight of media agencies, as well as Digitas and Razorfish under Publicis’ holding company’s digital and media agency, Vivaki.

He has served in many volunteer leadership roles for the College of Media since graduating through the recruitment of employees, teaching courses, advising the college and serving on the James Webb Young board.

Klues has also served on the Board of Directors for the Off the Street Club in Chicago for over 25 years. Off the Street Club is Chicago’s oldest boys and girls club and currently serves more than 3,000 kids in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. The gift to the College is a way for Klues to merge these two passions.

High school students who are involved in Off the Street Club will be one source of students considered for summer camp scholarships. “It’s important these kids know that not only is this world out there, but it’s accessible,” Klues said. “They can see it, feel it, touch it. We’ve got to give hope.”

“Providing access for underrepresented students and those with financial need is vital to the College and the University,” said Jan Slater, Dean of the College. “Access is a key element of our Land Grant mission. Improving diversity in the student population helps to improve diversity in the industries we serve – something those industries have been striving toward. Jack and Beth’s partnership and generosity is helping to make this vision a reality.”

“Jan Slater’s first and foremost concern is what is the best thing I can do to serve these students,” Klues said. “If I can play a small part, it snowballs from there.”

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