Grady's Social Media Certificate Benefits Students, Professors and Business Owners

The University of Georgia is making it possible for students, professors and small business owners alike to become experts in the world of social media. A new UGA-developed course, Using Social Media to Build Business, provides a roadmap for successfully integrating social programs into your business strategies.

Christa C. Bell, recent graduate of Grady's Using Social Media to Build Business Certificate  

This program is an online certificate course developed by the Department of Advertising and Public Relations in UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. The certificate is designed so that people of all ages, and in all walks of life are able to progress at their own pace. At any time, you can engage in a dialog by email with your mentor.

Christa C. Bell is a professor at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, who recently graduated with a certificate from this program. Professor Bell has utilized her knowledge learned from this course to better lead the campus’ PRSSA chapter. She was able to learn in-depth, practical information about using social media effectively to win business. Bell was able to grow and develop her skills, and because of this program, her students are also being benefitted.

We live in the era of the new “social consumer”, and these consumers want to hear from your business. Register today to take part in this learning experience provided by the AdPR Department of UGA’s Grady College.

Social Media Certificate Registration: http://www.georgiacenter.uga.edu/courses/business-and-leadership/using-social-media

Darren Anglin Honored with Founders' Award

Earlier this semester, the UGA Black Faculty and Staff Organization held its 13 th annual Founders’ Award Scholarship Luncheon. Following a keynote address by Rev. Francys Johnson, state president of the Georgia NAACP, the Founders’ Award was presented to fourth year Ad student, Darren Anglin.

Anglin is the vice president of the Zeta Nu Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, the treasurer of the National Pan Hellenic Council, a mentor for the Black Educational Support Team and a C.L.A.S.S. Advocate for University Housing. He has impacted countless students, faculty and staff at the university during his four years at UGA, but he is most prideful of an accomplishment that is not printed on his resume.

“I am most proud of accepting and loving myself unconditionally,” says Anglin. “Once I learned to love myself, I found room to love others. Before I knew it, I was giving back to my community, mentoring black youth, and advocating for the equality of disadvantaged groups. I think that's what has made me so successful.”

Darren Anglin was presented the Founders’ Award this year for his intangible impact across the university, and has made memories during his four years that will last a lifetime. One moment that stands out to Anglin is a keynote speech by Maya Angelou during his sophomore year. He recalls the memory by saying, “She told us, ‘You have already been paid for.’ She meant that our ancestors have sacrificed their lives, love and legacy to give me the opportunity to even ‘be’.”

Anglin has taken to heart the opportunity his ancestors have given him. He continues to demonstrate why he deserves the honor of the Founders’ Award, and he makes Grady and the University of Georgia proud.

Joe Phua making an advertising impact

Joe Phua, assistant professor of advertising in the Advertising and Public Relations Department at The University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, is making an impact through advertising.

Phua is the co-principal investigator on a $1.7 million grant funded by the United States Department of Agriculture to improve the nutritional habits of low-income Georgians. The team is led by Jung Sun Lee, a faculty member in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences.

The researchers’ goal is to help Georgians eligible for SNAP benefits — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — establish healthy eating habits and a physically active lifestyle through evidence-based, behaviorally focused and culturally appropriate nutrition education and obesity prevention interventions. Read more about the USDA grant.

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Phua also received a seed grant from the UGA William A. and Barbara R. Owens Institute for Behavioral Research (OIBR) in the amount of $5,000 to examine cigarette advertising on social media and its impact on at-risk youths. 

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Phua's article "Following celebrities' Tweets about brands: The impact of Twitter-based electronic word of mouth on consumers' brand intentions" was named one of the Top 3 most-cited articles of Journal of Advertising for 2014 by Taylor and Francis Publishers. Read more.

Elaine Lin selected for the Lilly Teaching Fellows Program

Jhih-Syuan (Elaine) Lin, assistant professor of advertising in the Advertising and Public Relations Department at The University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, was selected for UGA's Center for Teaching and Learning's 2014-2016 Lilly Teaching Fellows Program.

Each spring semester, 10 tenure-track assistant professors who are recipient of a Ph.D. or terminal degree in their discipline or profession and who are in their first, second or third year at UGA are selected for the Lilly Teaching Fellows Program.

The goals of the CTL Lilly TeachingFellows Program are to provide opportunities for the Fellows to further develop skills associated with effective teaching; provide opportunities for the Fellows to further develop their ability to appropriately balance teaching with the research and service roles required by a research university; provide the Fellows information concerning the instructional policies, resources, and services at The University of Georgia; offer a support system for the Fellows for sharing of ideas with colleagues from other disciplines who may have similar interests and who face similar challenges; develop the instructional skills of the Fellows through exposure to and interaction with faculty mentors who are master teachers; provide the Fellows an opportunity to complete an instructional project designed to strengthen courses and teaching methods in their academic department; and reinforce an instructional environment that honors and recognizes dedicated teaching scholars; values a synergistic relationship between teaching, research, and service; and promotes a learning community spirit on a large campus.

AdPR Faculty Spotlight: Dr. James Hamilton

Associate Professor Dr. Hamilton

Dr. James Hamilton is currently an Associate Professor of Advertising in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at Grady College.

What's your educational background?

I have a BA (1983) as a double major in English and Communications (plus nearly enough classes in History for a triple major), and an MA (1986) in Communications, both from the University of Washington in Seattle.

My PhD (1993) is in Mass Communications from the University of Iowa.

What were you doing before you came to Grady?

Immediately prior to coming to Grady, for five years (1995-1999) I was an Assistant Professor of Mass Communication at SUNY Geneseo in western New York State.

Prior to that and after completing my PhD, I lived in Baltimore for 2-1/2 years, working as a Training Coordinator for a top-50 law firm based in Baltimore. At that time it had installed a new Windows-based LAN to connect its offices in Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. It needed someone to put together and deliver a training program to its partners, associates and staff.

After completing my MA and prior starting my PhD, I worked for 2-1/2 years as a Copywriter for Corporate Communications at a (then) small computer startup company named Microsoft.

What drew you to become a professor at Grady College?

The quality of the programs. And, by moving down South, I could throw away my rusty snow shovels.

What classes (if any) are you teaching this semester?

I'm teaching ADPR3100, "Principles of Advertising" (I've taught this off and on since Spring 2000) and JRMC7960, "Foundations of Advertising," which is a ramped-up intro designed for first-year M.A. students.

What kinds of classes have you taught, and what have been your favorite ones to teach?

Much of my undergraduate teaching focuses on the creative end of the process. I try to give students in ADPR3100 a good overall sense of it, and really enjoy diving deeply into it with small groups of students in ADPR3110, "Advertising Message Strategy" and ADPR3520, "Graphic Communication."

I'm also really excited to have been in with Dr. Kirsten Strausbaugh on the first year of the "Summer at the Circus" intense creative bootcamp collaboration between AdPR and the Creative Circus portfolio school in Atlanta. This will quickly become the prime stop for UGA students serious about a career in creative.

What is your research focus, if applicable? (Any projects you can share with us at this time?)

My general focus is on communication as a general social process (as opposed to one engaged in only by those working in media industries). Right now I'm investigating the role and place of non-professional users in the activities of media industries.

One project I'm working on with Advertising major Chelsea Harvey has to do with the productive role of fans in the early years of the motion-picture industry in helping generate movie ideas and scripts, provide early feedback on movies, and participate in various promotions. The second project is similar, but dealing with the emergence of the television industry. I'm working on it with Ph.D. student Steve McCreery.

What are you most looking forward to this semester?

Actually, I've been looking forward to the point at which we've already reached. Once the classes are up and students have settled in, that's when the learning gets easier.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

What spare time? :) I stay active--cycling mostly, but also working out at Ramsey. I also spend time working on our little fixer-upper cabin on a north branch of Lake Hartwell.

What do you love about UGA/Athens area?

You're close to everything, but far enough away from it, too.

What advice would you give to your students?

Study widely--don't over-specialize. Especially for students interested in creative, you absolutely never know where a good idea is going to come from. That course in classics may very well provide the insight later on for a key campaign in which you'll shine.

And always have a few irons in the fire. If one direction doesn't seem to be working out, you have others to pursue if not simply to make a living at.

Anything else you'd like to share with us?

There's nothing like working with the great colleagues and students we have here.

AdPR Alumni Spotlight - Sarah Armstrong (‘05)

Sarah Armstrong

Sarah Armstrong currently works at Arnold (NY) as an Account Supervisor.

What was your major and when did you graduate? I graduated Cum Laude in May ‘05 with an ABJ in Advertising.

What activities were you involved while in Grady/UGA? Though I graduated with a degree in Advertising, I was initially a PR major so my activities spanned between both areas of communications.  I was a member of a sorority for four years and during that time I served one year as the PR chair.  One of my favorite activities was being a Hoop Girl for the Men’s basketball team for 3 years. And during my senior year I became involved in the Ad Club (since I finally picked my major!) and came to New York City for the annual Ad Club trip.

What are you doing now and how did you get there?  I’m currently an Account Supervisor working on Unilever at Arnold.  Right after graduation I came to NYC with a friend - neither of us had jobs but we were determined to make it work.  I had a PR internship the year before and used that experience to secure a position at a leading PR agency.  After a few months, I decided to switch to advertising and joined JWT, where I worked on a few J&J and Diageo brands for 4+ years. Ready for a change, I came to Arnold 3 years ago.

What is your day-to-day like at your job? (Any interesting projects that you can share with us?) On any given day I'm doing whatever I can to make the account run smoothly. That could mean pulling together a presentation for a creative meeting, visiting the clients' offices, attending focus groups or even a shoot somewhere exotic (or in Queens for that matter...) Right now I'm working on a project that will simultaneously relaunch a brand in some global markets, launch a new product and help the brand become relevant to millennials who may have passed on it in the past. So, I've got my work cut out for me!

What part of your Grady experience (classes, professors, etc.) has been helpful in your career today? The passion of my professors in Grady is what drew me to Advertising. Learning about all aspects of communications (research, art direction, strategy, media and even law) gave me a solid base of knowledge.  Not to mention it allowed me to try my hand at different roles within communications to get a sense of where I excel (leading a team, making killer PPT decks) and where I'm perhaps not so gifted (Photoshop, writing newspaper articles).

What is your favorite Grady memory? Definitely the Ad Club NYC trip. I met so many wonderful people, visited a ton of fantastic agencies and got to see all that NYC -- my home now of 8 years -- had to offer. It gave me the excitement and confidence I needed to make the leap to move here. In a nutshell, that was a life-changing trip.

What advice do you have for current AdPR students? 1) Don't be shy! Network and meet people. We all got our start from meeting someone on the inside who was kind enough to listen to our dreams and offer a way in. 2) Ask thoughtful questions and let your passion and personality shine through, especially when interviewing for that first job. 3) And once you have that first job, remember you have a lot to learn. Grady is fantastic at preparing you for your career, but there's nothing like good old fashioned experience that comes with time, and the wisdom that comes from working under seasoned mentors.

Student spotlight: Alex Woodruff

Alex Woodruff

Alex Woodruff, a Senior majoring in Advertising (Grady College), Marketing (Terry College), and Music Business (Terry Certificate) is from Locust Grove, GA. He's interning at Mashable (NY) this summer.

What encouraged you to apply to Grady College?  

Coming in as a freshman I knew my greatest passion was journalism, at least from an educational perspective. l still hadn't decided which discipline within Grady was my best match however. Though my high school background was in print journalism, after a couple of years at UGA I began to shift more from news-writing to the ADPR side of things. Looking back, I couldn't be happier with that decision.

What activities are you involved in at Grady/UGA/Athens?

I record music under the name Reign and have performed many times in Athens as well as on campus, opening for Big Sean when he came to UGA and Kendrick Lamar earlier this year at Tate Grand Hall. Outside of my music I am an active member of Pi Sigma Epsilon, the Sales/Marketing Fraternity at UGA, and work part-time as a Salesperson for LensCrafters in Athens.

What kinds of internships or work have you been involved in, and what were your responsibilities?

When I started at UGA I worked as a cashier at Publix for about a year before being hired at LensCrafters, where I sell and repair glasses. Last year I was granted an internship through the Terry Music Business program doing marketing work for UGA Alum Pharis Roland and his company BoomFoundry. This summer I was fortunate enough to be selected for an Sales internship with Mashable.com in New York City. At Mashable I work with a team of people who strive to make the site a go-to destination for advertisers worldwide, while keeping the user-experience as undisturbed as possible.

What were the best parts of these experiences?

Easily, my time here at Mashable. This is my first real experience with an established company and it has been phenomenal. Great work environment and brilliant, forward-thinking people.

What part of your Grady experience (classes, professors, etc.) has been helpful in your internship or work experiences?

In all of these work experiences the one constant responsibility I have is that I must be able to communicate effectively. My Grady professors have really helped prepare me for that, and I'm much more comfortable in these internships because of their tutelage.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering pursuing an Ad/PR program?

Go for it! It's an awesome program with a great reputation and an even better faculty.

What are your career goals and interests?

Because of the intensive education I've received at Grady and elsewhere at the University, I have a lot of options once I finish my degrees. I plan to try a variety of fields, test my strengths, and most importantly: never get bored.