FIU professor chosen to lead Public Relations Society of America

Rosanna Fiske

MIAMI —

Rosanna Fiske, an associate professor of public relations and advertising in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Florida International University (FIU), has been nominated as the 2011 chair and CEO of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

PRSA’s 21-member Nominating Committee, at a meeting held Aug. 1-2 in Chicago, selected Fiske as the Society’s 2010 chair-elect. Fiske also serves as graduate coordinator of the Global Strategic Communications master’s degree.

Fiske, who would ascend to the position of chair and CEO in 2011, is one of eight individuals nominated to fill vacancies on PRSA’s Board of Directors next year. The full slate of candidates must be approved at the annual meeting of PRSA’s National Assembly, which takes place this year on Nov. 7, at the PRSA International Conference in San Diego.

“As a professor, this is a great opportunity to represent educators and FIU worldwide, leading the world’s largest public relations organization,” Fiske said.  “PRSA provides its more than 32,000 professional and student members with life-long learning and advancement of the profession.  My goal is to continue and enhance our leadership and innovation in communications.”

Prior to joining FIU, Fiske held senior communications, marketing and management positions in agency and corporate settings, where she specialized in financial, corporate and executive communications. She has overseen domestic and international public relations programs for a number of leading corporations, including Charles Schwab & Co., MTV Networks, American Airlines, MCI, Anheuser-Busch Companies and Wells Fargo Bank.

Fiske previously served on the PRSA board as a director from 2004 to 2006, and as treasurer in 2008. She was the first Hispanic woman elected as PRSA’s Miami Chapter president, and has served on the University of Florida’s Business Advisory Council, the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communications Management, Women in International Trade and the National Hispanic Scholarship Fund. 

-FIU-

About the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)
The Public Relations Society of America, headquartered in New York City, is the world’s largest organization for public relations professionals with nearly 32,000 professional and student members. PRSA is organized into 110 Chapters and 10 Districts nationwide, and 20 Professional Interest Sections and Affinity Groups, which represent business and industry, counseling firms, independent practitioners, military, government, associations, hospitals, schools, professional services firms and nonprofit organizations. The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) has 303 Chapters at colleges and universities throughout the United States, and one Chapter in Argentina.

About SJMC
The FIU School of Journalism and Mass Communication offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificate programs in advertising, journalism, public relations and television. With approximately 2,000 students, 81 percent minority, it is home to the nation’s first journalism master’s program taught entirely in Spanish, an internationally recognized advertising program in partnership with the Miami Ad School, and one of the top-ranked public relations programs in the nation. Editor and Publisher magazine says the SJMC “now takes the lead in training Hispanic journalists.” The school has become the go-to place for hosting top industry events, and alumni and faculty have won a number of prestigious awards, including a total of eight Pulitzer Prizes and several Silver Anvils, regional Emmys, Clarions, Clios, Addys, Tellys and Silver Microphones.

About FIU:
Florida International University was founded in 1965 and is Miami’s only public research university. With a student body of more than 38,000, its 17 colleges and schools offer more than 200 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations and law. More than 100,000 FIU alumni live and work in South Florida. FIU has been classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a “High Research Activity University”. In August 2009, FIU welcomed the inaugural class of the Wertheim College of Medicine. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu.