The principal of Concord High School (New Hampshire) recounts the 1985-86 school year's four crises--the visits of teacher-astronaut Christa McAuliffe and Secretary of Education William Bennett, the shooting of a former student, and the Challenger space shuttle explosion. The greatest challenge was resuming the normal schedule and fielding media…

President Richard M. Cyert of Carnegie Mellon University set establishing national visibility as a university-wide goal six years ago. The public relations office developed a hard-driving program centered on national media coverage. This program is described. (MLW)

Many institutions of higher education are adopting video as a recruitment tool. Different methods of distributing videos include: mailing, networks, recruitment trips, and on campus use. Suggestions for producing a video are provided. (MLW)

Communications improve if school principals remove communication barriers with their teachers, thereby building trust. Involving teachers in decisions and knowing what is happening enables teachers to overcome assumptive barriers. Stereotypes are overcome by personal and professional communications. Private discussions and forms of praise remove…

Gift clubs at significant levels give donors a reason to make significant gifts. Mega-gift clubs succeed for four reasons: they are an attractive way to recognize donors, clubs give donors who are ready and willing an opportunity to give, they offer status, and they provide donors with tax deductions. (MLW)

A program that sent a fund-raising videotape to 1,500 University of Richmond alumni is described. Research had turned up affluent alumni in areas too remote for personal calls or visits by the presidents. The program was a success and proved cost-effective. (MLW)

Dartmouth's class newsletter program has proved to be a simple but effective way to foster loyalty, affection, and support among their alumni. The newsletters also promote continuing education programs, act as informal career and placement networks, and find lost alumni. (MLW)

Presents a case study of a community survey taken by second-grade students and published in a local newspaper. Advocates such projects as a method to teach statistics, survey skills, and improve public relations by getting students' names in print. (JM)

Empire State College, a branch of the State University of New York, is a public institution designed for adults with 5,500 students at 40 locations. ESC's most successful student recruitment method is word of mouth. Suggestions on how to attract students are provided. (MLW)

In an era when sophisticated campus marketing calls for sensitive public relations strategies, more institutions are turning to advisory groups. Most of these groups are made up of alumni or parents who know the institutions and have experience in public relations or communications. (MLW)

One Pennsylvania district's experiences suggest that key factors in improving education are (1) redefining education's purpose, focusing on the basics, (2) defining the core curriculum, (3) restructuring the existing curriculum, (4) presenting the plan to the community, (5) responding to fears, (6) maintaining commitment, and (7) keeping…

Several programs devised by the Glasgow College of Technology to forge links between the institution and the surrounding community are outlined, and the difficulties encountered in bridging the traditional town-school gap are discussed. (MSE)

Possible advisory committee roles and responsibilities, and some examples of these in action, are described and discussed. Included are the Indiana State Advisory Council on Vocational Education's recommendations for maintaining an active advisory committee, which are based on the assumption that a board can be effective only if it receives…

A UCLA Olympics communication plan is described that capitalized on the international visibility of the Olympics to promote UCLA's academic quality and achievements in teaching, research, and public service. (MLW)

This article on the training and information needs of library board members discusses ideas for becoming an effective library trustee. Topics covered include getting started, setting policy, managing money, hiring the librarian, working with the librarian, carrying out public relations, and organizational planning. Six sources are given. (EJS)