A Northwestern graduate professor who helped establish the Medill School of Journalism Integrated Marketing and Communication program will be honored by a professional public relations group for his innovative contributions to business media management.
Prof. Clarke Caywood, director of the graduate program in public relations, will receive the Public Relations Society of America’s Outstanding Educator Award on Nov. 18 at an international conference in San Francisco.
Over the past decade, Caywood, 55, has developed the concept of integrated marketing communications, which melds effective communication with more efficient business practices. Through his interactive graduate classes, he also emphasizes the necessity of corporate accountability — not only to the customer but also to the media, employees and community.
“Words are not enough,” Caywood said. “Your actions are what demonstrate your ethical position as a business. As a professional school, we intend to have ethical, forward-thinking impact.”
Before joining Medill in 1989, Caywood already had broken new ground at the University of Wisconsin by completing a joint doctorate in business and journalism — the first degree of its kind given at the school.
NU recruited Caywood to help develop the IMC program, which was launched in 1991.
In 2000, PRWeek magazine named Caywood one of the 100 most influential people in public relations for the 20th century.
Students in Caywood’s graduate course Crisis Management confront detailed, high-stress corporate scenarios integrating communication between advertising, public relations and direct marketing departments.
Lately it has been easy to teach, “because we just pick up the daily newspaper,” he said.
Class projects feature corporate disasters ranging from the Sept. 11 attacks to the “self-impaled” problems of Martha Stewart and R. Kelly to financial scandals at firms such as ImClone.
“The press is so interested today in what’s going on in corporations, it’s good news and bad news,” Caywood said. “The corporations have no choice but to change the way they behave, because the press will follow up on it.”
About 15 public relations exercises throughout the course help students develop their instincts by simulating real-life crisis situations. Students research press releases and news conferences from the actual event and devise their own course of action.
“That kind of teaching is reflective of what we do in integrated marketing communication,” Caywood said. “It’s very interactive and non-theoretical. It teaches the students how to think in high-level professional environments and be able to act.”
Tracy Menasco Nelson, 34, said Caywood’s allure is his commitment to promoting the emerging field and his attentiveness to the individual student.
Caywood was Menasco Nelson’s adviser during her residency last summer in NU’s computer science department. She said it was an empowering experience.
“He’s marketing us,” she said. “In his classes you always get a depth of intellectualism in addition to practical skills.”
Medill Dean Loren Ghiglione was glad to see Caywood’s work rewarded.
“I think it’s a great honor for Medill,” he said. “It reflects his energy, enthusiasm, dedication and a particular commitment to raising the standards of the profession.”
