Public relations veteran Ron Culp has been named director of the graduate public relations and advertising program (PRAD) at DePaul University.
Culp, who is the former director of global agency Ketchum’s North American practice, will work with graduate faculty to recruit adjunct instructors and create new academic programs to better prepare students for post-graduation career opportunities. He also will serve as primary career advisor to PRAD master’s students. Beginning in January 2012, Culp will teach a graduate-level course “Career Strategies for Public Relations and Advertising.”
“We are excited to have Ron take on this major role in our college,” said Jacqueline Taylor, dean of the College of Communication. “Ron will bring a wealth of industry experience and a deep understanding of where the fields of public relations and advertising are heading. He will raise the visibility of DePaul’s program in key industry circles and provide invaluable mentoring for our students.”
Earlier this year, Culp announced plans to leave global public relations agency Ketchum in order to pursue his long-desired goal of being an independent consultant and play a larger role in the development of future communications talent. While Culp primarily will be engaged with DePaul, he will continue to consult with key corporate and agency clients, including Ketchum.
“At this stage of my career, it’s both important and personally rewarding to help others launch their own careers,” Culp said. “By combining my 38 years of corporate and agency experience with DePaul’s talented PRAD team, we plan to create outstanding academic and real-world training experiences for future leaders in public relations and advertising.”
Prior to launching his own consultancy, Culp was a partner at Ketchum and also ran the agency’s Midwest operations. Prior to Ketchum, Culp established and headed the Chicago office of Sard Verbinnen & Co., a New York-based financial communications firm. His corporate career included senior positions at four Fortune 500 corporations, including Sears, where he was senior vice president of public relations and government affairs. Previously, he was executive director of public relations at Sara Lee Corp., after serving as director of public relations at Pitney Bowes. He started his corporate career at Eli Lilly and Company where he was manager of corporate communications.
Culp began his career as a news reporter at the Columbus (Ind.) Republic before working in the Indiana and New York legislatures. He headed Member Services, the communications arm of the New York State Assembly for seven years after serving as press secretary to the Indiana House majority leader.
Earlier this year, Culp served as an adjunct professor in DePaul’s graduate program. He also has lectured at many other universities. Culp provides advice for individuals pursuing PR careers through his popular blog, www.culpwrit.com.
Long active in many civic and nonprofit organizations, Culp serves on the boards of the Lincoln Park Zoo, Gilda’s Club Chicago and the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations. He’s a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and the Executives’ Club of Chicago. A graduate of Indiana State University, he sits on his alma mater’s foundation board and was honored as a distinguished alumnus in 2002. Culp received the Distinguished Service Award from the Arthur W. Page Society, the PR Hall of Fame Award from PR News, and the prestigious John W. Hill Award from the New York chapter of Public Relations Society of America. For the past five years, he has been listed in Crain’s Chicago Business’ “Who’s Who in Chicago Business.”
About the College of Communication
DePaul’s College of Communication is the second-largest provider of master’s degrees in communication in Illinois. It is the second largest provider of bachelor’s degrees in communication in the Chicago area. Graduate programs include journalism; media and cinema studies; public relations and advertising; organizational and multicultural communication; and health communication. Its master’s programs offer specializing in advertising and public relations; communications law and ethics; and research methodology. It offers undergraduate programs in journalism; media and cinema studies; public relations and advertising; communication studies; organizational communication; relational communication; intercultural communicaton; and communication and media. The college’s diverse full- and part-time faculty bring a wealth of academic and real world experience to the classroom.
About DePaul
With more than 25,000 students, DePaul University is the largest Catholic university in the United States and the largest private, non-profit university in the Midwest, The university offers approximately 275 graduate and undergraduate programs of study on two Chicago campuses, four suburban campuses and three international locations. Founded in 1898, DePaul remains committed to providing a quality education through personal attention to students from a wide range of backgrounds.
