PR 101 with a 2.0 Spin: Professor Mark Congdon

Politely Pushy with Eric Chemi

Today, Professor Mark Congdon joins us - and that’s “Mark” to his students as the world has changed since the person writing this podcast description attended college a century ago. Mark is an assistant professor of communication studies at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Many public relations professionals didn’t necessarily attend college with a major in the communications field historically, but this is Mark’s teaching focus, and forte and his students, who are there to study PR, are learning a tremendous amount. As a former special education teacher, he taps into how different students learn and the insightful and creative activities that engage them individually. He incorporates diversity, equity and inclusion and is mindful of what appeals to different generations of students in every lesson plan. Mark discusses how Covid changed the industry and how the remote approach to PR requires a shift in thinking for students. Finally, he clues us in on some innovative research he’s been working on that will help shape the future of PR, including focusing on financial literacy. Tune in to learn more about how this ongoing research relates to PR and how students are afforded an incredible, hands-on, experiential syllabus in the PR field today through Mark’s unique teaching methods.