PR Lessons Learned Along the Way: Strategies, Tips & Advice for the Higher Ed and Nonprofit Public Relations Professional Lands Amazon’s “#1 New Release in Public Relations” Spot for June
Higher Education PR Veteran Marc Whitt Authors Book Named to Public Relations and Communication Association’s “Recommended Reading List” and Recommended by United Kingdom Town & Gown Association Leaders
Lexington, KY (June 30, 2020) – PR Lessons Learned Along the Way: Strategies, Tips & Advice for the Higher Ed and Nonprofit Public Relations Professional, a book that has already received rave editorial reviews by higher education and nonprofit leaders from across the United States and United Kingdom, maintained Top 5 status in Amazon Book’s “New Release in Public Relations” category for the month of June – most of those weeks at the Number 1 spot, announced Adam Turner, president of Cherrymoon Media, a publisher based in Lexington, Ky. The book is available in print and Kindle formats via Amazon Books.
The 272- page book, named by the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) to its “Recommended Reading List,” is by first-time author, Marc C. Whitt, a 35-year veteran of higher education and nonprofit public relations. Whitt currently serves as director of media and strategic relations at the University of Kentucky Office of Public Relations and Strategic Communications and is a part-time instructor at UK’s Department of Integrated Strategic Communication. The foreword is written by nationally-respected higher education journalist Melissa Ezarik, senior managing editor of Connecticutt-based University Business magazine.
Whitt has written a book filled with strategies, tips and advice addressing pertinent topics for those in higher education or nonprofit public relations. More than 20 chapters cover topics such as program leadership and management, crisis communications, social media, earned media, storytelling, philanthropy and donor communications, town and gown relations, branding, event planning and much more.
Interspersed throughout the book are many of the career lessons Whitt said he has personally learned and experienced during his career. He has taken these experiences and insights and shares them with the reader in an open, honest, inspiring and insightful way, said Turner.
“PR Lessons Learned Along the Way is written in a conversational tone,” Turner added. “That was intentional on Marc’s part and true to his personality and character. He wants the young, mid-career or senior professional to feel as if they are sitting down with him over a cup of coffee or glass of sweet tea talking shop as they learn from one another. Not only do I believe he has successfully captured this in the book, but so do many in the public relations profession who have reviewed it.”
Cooper Healey and Poppy Humphrey with the United Kingdom Town and Gown Association (www.uktga.org) have been enthusiastic readers of Whitt’s book since its release and have offered editorial reviews.
“Marc Whitt takes a complex subject and gives the reader straightforward, practical advice,” said Healey, chair of UKTGA. “One is reassured that the potential challenges associated with ‘town and gown’ can easily be overcome by following simple, common-sense guidelines. Not only limited to university, community and municipal issues, Marc deftly addresses the potential to enhance the economy by engaging with all sectors, particularly tourism. Marc writes in a comprehensive, easy to follow style with points clearly set out. A pleasure to read, this book is a must for all involved in the ‘town and gown’ debate.”
Healey’s associate, Poppy Humphrey, UKTGA’s North West Representative and an off-campus student affairs officer for Manchester Student Homes, concurs.
“(PR Lessons Learned Along the Way) is a true delight of a read that clearly sets out the strategic and practical approaches to developing expertise in the world of PR,” said Humphrey. “Marc Whitt draws on key principles harnessed throughout not only his career, but also intertwines these lessons with reflections from wider life experiences. Marc invites the reader to trip through the narrative, interspersing motivational and thought-provoking quotes which both challenge and inspire. Many of the principles can be applied not only in a work setting but as building blocks for life. Marc sets out a blueprint for successfully navigating the reader through the intricacies of managing town-gown relations, in both an eloquent and accessible way.”
About the Author
Marc Whitt is Director of Media & Strategic Relations at the University of Kentucky’s Office of Public Relations and Strategic Communications. He also serves as a part-time instructor in UK’s Department of Integrated Strategic Communication and is a former PR and marketing columnist for the national trade magazine, University Business. During his nearly 35 years in higher education, Marc’s work has achieved measurable results garnering over 40 honors including back-to-back CASE Silver Medal Awards for Total Institutional Relations Program. In 2015, he received the James C. Bowling Excellence in Public Relations Award. Presented by the UK Journalism Alumni Association and UK Department of Integrated Strategic Communication, the award is given to the “outstanding public relations practitioner with ties to Kentucky.” That same year, he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Eastern Kentucky University Department of Communication. In 2003, he was named an Honorary Alumnus of Campbellsville University.
Recently Onalytica, a firm that identifies social influencers, named him among the “Top 100 Public Relations Influencers on Twitter;” he was ranked 21st. Additionally, CASE Kentucky presented him with its Beth K. Fields Service Award for Leadership in Advancement.
In previous years, Marc has served on the Association of American Colleges & Universities Advisory Council on Communications and Public Affairs (two of his eight years as national chair), the CASE District III (Southeast US) Board of Directors and the International Town & Gown Association Board of Directors. He has consulted organizations such as the Christian Appalachian Project, The National Association of Music Parents, Witnessing History Education Foundation, among others.
Marc earned a Master of Arts Degree (1985) and Bachelor of Arts Degree (1982) from Eastern Kentucky University.
Marc and his wife, Jennifer, formerly of Paintsville, Ky., reside in Richmond, Ky., and are the parents of three children: Emily Fields (Mark), Elizabeth Muncie (Christian), and Jacob; and the grandparents of Annaleigh and Aubrey Fields.