You may have heard the parable about the cobbler’s children having no shoes. Of course getting the meaning behind the story assumes you know what a cobbler does (did) for a living. If we want to understand modern Cobbler’s Child Syndrome (CCS) think of it as the accountant who is late getting her own company books up to date or the tech company with out-of-date software on its office computers.

Many public relations professionals struggle to find the time and resources to do our own PR. So why do any of us put off doing for ourselves what we know how to do best? When you really get down to it, there probably isn’t a great reason. Time and monetary resources are age-old answers.

For the faculty in the UCM PR Program, educating our students comes first. That is our mission and we firmly believe in its value. Ultimately though, to continue building a program at UCM with an extraordinary regional and even national reputation, it is important for us to spread the word as far and wide as we can.

By starting this blog, renovating our student space, opening new channels of communication on spaces like Twitter, and sharing much more in our recent newsletter, we’re committing to the self-discipline it takes to set the right example for our students.

We want to stay in touch with our program’s alumni, and we’re especially interested in reaching out to young people who may be considering public relations as a career. By speaking with them about the benefits our program at UCM can offer we hope to increase the amount of students in the PR program. If you know someone who might fit in either of those categories, please let me or any of our faculty members know about it.

Help us avoid this syndrome. Share your PR stories with us on the blog and check back to make sure we haven’t succumbed to CCS. Gotta go, time to get new shoes.

Tom Heapes
Associate Professor