Renowned PR Professor Leaves a Mark
The School of Journalism & Media Studies launches a $1.5M campaign to fund a professional center for public relations named for Glen Broom.
Glen Broom forever changed the face of public relations during his 30-year career as a professor at San Diego State University. He literally wrote the book on public relations. His work and legacy will be honored on Feb. 22 as the University announces a campaign to raise funds to launch a professional center for public relations in his honor.
Hosted by SDSU President Elliot Hirshman and Dean Joyce Gattas, the event will bring together key donors, public relations alumni and faculty, and community professionals to recognize Broom and his lasting impact on SDSU and the public relations profession.
The Broom Center
The Glen M. Broom Center for Professional Development in Public Relations will be a national model for public relations excellence. Staff of the Center will administer an internship program for public relations students, offer student advising and career development, provide training programs for working professionals, and support research activities for faculty and graduate students.
“Nothing else like this Center exists in the nation,” said Gattas, dean of the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts at SDSU. “It is a model for excellence, just like Glen Broom. No one has done more for the public relations profession than Glen, and we are so fortunate to be able to continue his tradition of excellence.”
The Center will be housed in the School of Journalism & Media Studies, where Broom is professor emeritus. During his tenure at SDSU, Broom mentored more than 3,000 public relations students while helping to create one of the top 10 public relations programs in the country.
About Broom
Broom’s commitment to a research-based educational program served as a model across the nation. Broom is perhaps best known for his work as the co-author and author of the last five editions of Effective Public Relations, the definitive textbook used in public relations classrooms worldwide.
While at SDSU, Broom published more than 50 scholarly articles and papers. In 1987, he received the prestigious “Pathfinder Award” from the Institute for Public Relations Research in Education for his research.
Broom retired from SDSU in 2008 and has remained active in the public relations community, both as a mentor and a leader of the local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
The future of PR at SDSU
“The continued success of the public relations program at SDSU requires that the university maintain the values that Glen Broom outlined many years ago,” said Diane Borden, director of SDSU’s School of Journalism and Media Studies.
“In addition to providing support for internships and professional development, the Center will honor Glen’s legacy by supporting the efforts of JMS faculty and graduate students to produce significant scholarly research in the area of public relations,” she continued.
Campaign connection
Key founding donors to the Center include: Scott Allison (Allison + Partners), Gordon Broom (HeplerBroom LLC), Diane Gage Lofgren (Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.), Scott Pansky (Allison + Partners), MaryLee Sachs (Changing MO LLC), Larry Thomas (retired, The Irvine Company) and Bill Trumpfheller (Nuffer, Smith, Tucker).
Donors to the Broom Center join the 40,000-plus individuals who have contributed more than $380 million toward the $500 million Campaign for SDSU. The campaign, which began in 2007, will provide the resources to continue SDSU's mission to attract and retain top faculty, support research and innovation and provide more scholarships for students.
Support The Glen M. Broom Center for Professional Development in Public Relations
