Recent Activities
- Shortly after my arrival here early last month, I was asked to prepare an article for the official magazine of the Poznań University of Economics. The topic was not related to my work here, but rather concerned the performing arts at my home university, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The magazine editors were interested in comparing the performing arts at our two universities. It's not my academic area, but as a musician and a frequent performer in amateur productions (in four countries!) over the decades, I was happy to comply. Using material from the UNC Charlotte website and eager assistance from officials with UNC Charlotte's College of Arts and Architecture, I was able to assemble a reasonably comprehesive article along with several great photos. The editors are reportedly very pleased with the result, and the article should appear in this month's issue coming out in about two weeks.
- Because of the overwhelming response to last week's initial guest lecture on preparing U.S.-style resumes, I repeated the lecture yesterday to a smaller but appreciative group of about 20 great students.
- I recently completed an e-mail interview for an article in my home department's e-zine. The article will cover my impressions formed so far regarding my time in Poland.
- Dr. Jacek Trębecki, graduate student Martyna Dziubek and I meet at least twice weekly to move our research project forward. During recent meetings, we reviewed and polished both the focus group protocol and the survey instrument. Team members in the U.S., Dr. Jaehee Cho and graduate student Nick Woods, have prepared both the Excel spreadsheet and the SPSS (statistical analysis software) program they will use to "crunch" the quantitative data we provide to them as a result of employee surveys we conduct here in Poland. Dr. Trębecki, Martyna and I continue to work and negotiate with potential company partners we hope will be the subjects of our research project.
- I'm continuing my diligent effort to acquire at least conversational skill in the Polish language. I have two formal, hour-and-a-half classes each week, and I'm using the Rosetta Stone complete package (three parts) in Polish as well as separate books. Having previously learned acceptable German and French plus some Spanish, I understand the process of learning a language, but Polish is still challenging. Slavic languages introduce new layers of complexity. It's not just because I'm old, either. My formal class has about 10 students, none over about 25. They're all undergraduate or graduate exchange students, and they come from Spain, Portugal, Latvia, France, Canada, Germany and Hungary. They're having just as much of a struggle as I am. Still, I'm making progress and use my Polish skills with increasing confidence in everyday situations.
- This Sunday (March 18), Robin and I will head to Berlin, Germany, for a 5-day seminar conducted by the German-U.S. Fulbright Commission there. This event brings together around 200 Fulbright students and faculty members for research presentations, discussions and cultural activities. Robin and I have not visited Berlin since my U.S. Air Force assignment to Frankfurt a.M., Germany, from 1980-'84 (30 years ago!). My memories of Berlin include regularly passing through Checkpoint Charlie to visit (then) East Berlin. We'll visit Checkpoint Charlie again on this trip, but it will be part of a museum! I'm not sure I'm fully prepared for the vast changes that have occurred since my earlier visits.
- It appears the success of my initial guest lectures is leading to a fairly regular schedule of such events here at PUE. I expect to be meeting with PR classes once a week from now on, offering lectures and discussions on topics such as corporate social responsibility, crisis communication planning and management, PR planning, media relations, internal communications, public diplomacy, etc. I must say this will be a most enjoyable aspect of my time here. The students here are fully engaged in their academic journey and eagerly welcome these opportunities to explore additional vectors of our discipline.
- On March 31, I will provide a half-day seminar to a group of about 30 PR professionals here in Poznań. I will cover the social, political and economic contexts that have shaped (and been shaped by) the public relations profession in the last 100 years or so. I'll also talk about emerging directions for public relations, and I'll lead the group in a real-world case analysis and planning exercise.
- Dr. Trębecki is also arranging for me to meet with student groups at other Poznań universities -- and there are quite a few in this academically-focused city.
- This week, I expect to be interviewed by a journalist with the Polish publication "The Business Voice" about our research project.
- I'm coordinating with Dr. Gyorgy Szondi a visit to Budapest, Hungary, in mid-April where I hope to conduct several guest lectures and perhaps a discussion with Hungarian PR professionals. Dr. Szondi is himself Hungarian, but he now teaches at Leeds University in Great Britain. I met him here in Poznań at a conference in 2005 and we have remained "virtual" colleagues since then. He contributed to a chapter in my book on global public relations.
- On April 19, Fulbrighters in Poland will gather here in Poznań for a day-long conference. Each of us will provide a report on our activities here in Poland; my presentation will include my research partners here and will summarize progress on our project.
- Research team members at UNC Charlotte will present a summary of early project results during the Center for Global Public Relations conference on April 21 in Charlotte.
- We recently received word that the panel proposal submitted by Dr. Ryszard Ławniczak here for the International PR Conference in Bled, Slovenia, in July has been accepted. I will serve on that panel, presenting an early summary of the results of our research project here.
Do widzenia!
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