Sorry I'm so late on this, Steve. Still in vacation mode and not yet back in the colasrsom. To your question, too many PR programs require NO business courses. At Kent State, we require seven: Microeconomics, Marcoeconomics, Principles of Management, Principles of Marketing, Financial Accounting, and two additional marketing courses. If students take 2-3 more biz classes, they may earn minors in business administration or marketing. But that doesn't make them business majors not by a long shot. But they do understand the fundamentals. On the other hand, my students can write rings around most any student in the College of Business. They understand media and the social web at a level far beyond the business majors. And I'll match our kids up in terms of critical problem solving against any business student in the university. But I have to admit, they still struggle with that balance sheet even after the accounting class. So it comes back to the great debate: Does PR belong in business schools? Maybe it does. But then we risk losing the menu of skills-oriented courses that turn the students into writers, and PR professionals. You also give up a good many liberal arts courses designed to make the PR graduate more well rounded.It's been argued by many that PR should be taught ONLY at the graduate level. Maybe that's the solution, but it's a post for another day. Again, I apologize for the tardiness of this response. I've been slackin'. Looking forward to your next visit and hearing about the new gig.
