University of Louisiana

The department’s master’s degree in public relations ranks No. 8 in a recent nationwide ranking compiled by Bill Baxter, a Marquette University Associate Professor Emeritus.

His ranking was based on a survey sent to directors of the nation’s public relations degree programs. Baxter asked each director to name two schools other than their own that they would recommend to students as the best in the country. Addition-ally Baxter considered the stature of the faculty, the scope and quality of the course offerings, leadership and innovation by program administrators, and the detail and quality of the information supplied.

“This is a wonderful accolade for our alumni, our graduate students and our faculty,” said Kathleen Kelly, who heads the public relations sequence. “The strong professional backgrounds of our faculty and the achievements of our graduates make us very competitive nationally.”

Along with Kelly, faculty members Janet Bridges, Michael Maher and William Swain have an average of 15 years of professional public relations experience, combined with an average of 13 years in the classroom.

The UL program ranks behind the following top seven: The University of Maryland; Syracuse, Florida, Georgia, Northwestern University, San Diego State, and the University of Southern California. Baxter evaluated 45 programs.

The Baxter study noted the prominence that recent public relations graduates have achieved in their field. Alumni named in the study were Sandra Duhe, corporate brand manager, ExxonMobil; Sandi Grivat, a Vice President at Genworth Finanacial (formerly GE Financial); Anastasia Egorova, account executive, Krumm & Associates, Los Angeles; Aaron Martin, regional market-ing director, Kaplan Test prep; and Chandra Gordon, regional director, American Heart Association.