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Bully Pulpit Series Wins Mercury Award

The College of Charleston’s Bully Pulpit Series on Presidential Communication has won a 2008 Mercury Award from the South Carolina chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

The Mercury Awards recognize outstanding achievement in the creation and execution of public relations campaigns and tactics. The Bully Pulpit Series won the Mercury Award for the outstanding event of more than seven days.

The Bully Pulpit Series was initiated in early 2007, when 12 presidential candidates from the two major political parties were invited to the College of Charleston campus to discuss the importance of presidential communication with the press and public. Four presidential candidates, including Senator John McCain and President Barack Obama, ultimately participated in the Bully Pulpit Series.

The non-partisan Bully Pulpit Series was a joint effort of the College of Charleston’s Department of Communication and the Department of Communication Advisory Council. The success of the series was made possible by the work of the College’s Division of Marketing and Communications and the Center for the Documentary and through collaboration with Peppercom, a full-service public relations agency with offices in New York, San Francisco, and London.

“We are honored to have won the Mercury Award for our work on the Bully Pulpit Series,” said Brian McGee, chairman of the Department of Communication at the College of Charleston. “The award recognizes the value of a series of events designed to elevate our public discourse and to encourage reflection on how the president uses the `bully pulpit’ powers of the presidency to inform, persuade and mobilize the American people.”

Allstate Insurance Company was the title sponsor for the series.

“We thank the Allstate leadership for their vision in making possible a thoughtful conversation about effective and ethical presidential communication,” said McGee.

The Bully Pulpit Series events began in October 2007 and concluded in January 2008. Over 6,000 students and community members attended the four series events, which also included appearances by Senator John Edwards and Representative Ron Paul.

“Supporting the Bully Pulpit Series was a rare opportunity to simultaneously support a great school and an innovative program while taking part in a major political moment in America’s history,” said Steve Cody, managing partner of Peppercom.

More information about the Bully Pulpit Series is available at www.cofc.edu/bullypulpit. As announced at a recent awards banquet in Columbia, South Carolina, the Mercury Award winners for 2008 are available at http://www.scprsa.org/SCPRSAMercurywinners.htm.

The Department of Communication Advisory Council promotes the recognition and progress of communication instruction at the College of Charleston. The Advisory Council is made up of an outstanding and nationally prominent group of communication professionals who aid the Department of Communication in developing curricula, creating and improving departmental programs, and calling attention to the many accomplishments of the department's students and faculty.

With one of the largest undergraduate majors at the College of Charleston, the Department of Communication enrolls about 800 students in its undergraduate and graduate programs. Students in the department study such topics as political communication, interpersonal communication, journalism, and public relations. The department is housed in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

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The Department of Communication is housed in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
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