FIU Professor Named Top Educator

FIU Associate Professor in Advertising and Public Relations, William C. Adams has been named the 2000 Outstanding Educator by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

"It's an honor that I'm surprised to receive at this stage of my teaching career," says Adams. "But it's a great reflection on the credibility and national recognition of FIU's School of Journalism and Mass Communication."

Adams has been teaching at Florida International University for 10 years. During his tenure, he has been instrumental in the development of the annual "Get Ready" hurricane guide, a free, 72-page manual that helps the community prepare for dangerous storms.

Underwritten by BP Amoco, the project has been produced by FIU public relations students and distributed to over one million South Floridians since 1994.

His 25 years of experience in the corporate world has enabled Adams to successfully teach students about the practical side of public relations as well as the theoretical.

"This is the highest award given to a PR Educator," said Pat Rose, Professor & Chair of the Department of Advertising and Public Relations. "Bill has brought top recognition to our program and has truly fostered ties between the academy and professional world."

Adams is an accredited member of PRSA as well as an elected member of the organization's College of Fellows. He is chair-elect of PRSA's Educator's Academy and a past chair of the Public Relations Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

Adams has worked with FIU's International Media Center on a communications program in El Salvador under a grant from the United States Agency for International Development and with another USAID communications program in Armenia.

In 1999, Adams was named one of the nation's ten "Outstanding Public Relations Educators," by the editors of PR Week, a national trade magazine. Adams and wife, Barbara, are residents of Plantation, Florida.

FIU Biscayne Bay Campus houses the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, dedicated to educating students in the skills needed to become effective communicators.