Category: Guest Speakers

News about guest speakers at Gaylord College or the University of Oklahoma campus of interest to JMC students.

Jose Antonio Vargas Speaking at OU

Vargas  Gaylord Speakers

The Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma is excited to invite you to an opportunity to hear and engage with one of our nation’s boldest voices on the topic of undocumented immigrants and citizenship.

The Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, immigration reform activist and renowned speaker, Jose Antonio Vargas is coming to the University of Oklahoma on Oct. 13. He will speak at Paul F. Sharp Concert Hall in Catlett Music Center at 7 p.m., along with students and leaders from Oklahoma-based Aspiring Americans. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is the host for this event.

Vargas admitted he was an undocumented immigrant in a groundbreaking essay published in The New York Times Magazine in 2011. The article stunned media and political circles throughout the country and attracted worldwide coverage. A year later, he appeared on the cover of TIME magazine with fellow undocumented immigrants as part of a follow-up cover story he wrote.

Vargas’ work centers on the changing American identity. He is the founder of Define American, a non-profit media and culture organization that seeks to elevate the conversation around immigration and citizenship in America, and the executive editor of #EmergingUS, a multimedia news platform he conceived focusing on race, immigration and the complexities of multiculturalism. In August MTV aired, as part of its Look Different campaign, White People, a television special he directed on what it means to be young and white in America.
Vargas wrote, produced and directed Documented, a documentary feature film on his undocumented experience.

The Hispanic American Student Association will show this documentary in the Gaylord Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation Auditorium Oct. 8 at 7 p.m.

The Gayord College is grateful to partner with many organizations to bring this speaker to the college. Those partners include the Hearst Foundation, Latino Student Life, Aspiring Americans, College of Arts and Sciences, Price College of Business, Diversity Enrichment Programs, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost, Administration and Finance, College of International Studies, UWC Davis Scholars, OU College of Law, Enrollment Services, the Office of University Community, OU WebComm, and OU Housing and Food Services.

Stephanie Frederic delivers convocation speech

Stephanie Frederic delivers 2015 convocation speechStephanie Frederic, a 1982 Radio/TV/Film graduate, delivered an inspiring speech to our spring graduating class encouraging them to be open to different pathways in life because occasionally you need to “pivot” from the direction you are going in order to seize an opportunity.

Gaylord College graduated 213 undergraduates and 25 graduate students including one Ph.D. at our spring convocation on May 9.

Frederic is owner of FGW, a film production company in Los Angeles. She was named a JayMac Distinguished Alumni in 2015. Read more about Frederic.

 

Global Public Relations Executives Visit Gaylord College

NORMAN, OKLAHOMA – The Gaylord College at the University of Oklahoma will host Rob Flaherty, CEO and senior partner of Ketchum PR, and David Gallagher, CEO and senior managing partner of Ketchum-Europe, on Thursday, April 23. The executives will present a public lecture as part of the Global Public Relations Presidential Dream Course.

Ketchum is one of the largest and most geographically diverse global public relations agencies with offices in 70 countries providing marketing, branding and corporate communication services for brands like Kleenex, Special Olympics, Delta, Wendy’s and Barbie.

“I am honored to meet and network with two prestigious public relations experts from Ketchum Inc. Their viewpoints will help students to integrate strategic communications into the international context. As an international student, I value the work they have done around the world because they are passionate about promoting diversity and building multicultural relations worldwide,” said Anna María Restuccia, senior Public Relations major from Venezuela studying at the Gaylord College and a student in the Global Public Relations Dream Course.

Rob Flaherty, Ketchum PR
Rob Flaherty

Rob Flaherty is senior partner, CEO & president of Ketchum, one of the world’s top communication firms and PRWeek’s 2012 Agency of the Year. Flaherty leads Ketchum’s Worldwide Executive Committee to guide the strategy, client service and performance of the agency.

Since joining Ketchum in 1989, Flaherty has been involved in all aspects of the firm’s business, including having successfully led its largest office, one of its global practices and several of its largest client engagements. Flaherty became president of the agency in 2008 and today is one of the industry’s most sought-after client counselors.

David Gallagher, senior partner and CEO of Ketchum’s European operations and chairman of the UK agency, has more than 20 years of public relations experience, both as a client and as a senior agency adviser with some of the world’s leading brands and companies.

David Gallagher, Ketchum PR
David Gallagher

Gallagher oversees Ketchum’s nine European agencies and their specialist services, which include consumer public relations, healthcare communications, corporate affairs and social responsibility, public affairs, change management, and clinical trial recruitment. He also is a member of Ketchum’s global Executive Committee and chairs the company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives.

The Ketchum Lecture is part of a Global Public Relations Dream Course taught by Dr. Katerina Tsetsura, Director of Graduate Programs for the Gaylord College. President David L. Boren initiated the OU Presidential Dream Course in 2004. The competitive Dream Course program provides extra resources to instructors to bring distinguished speakers to campus. Dream Courses cover important topics for concerned and engaged citizens in the 21st century. This is Tsetsura’s second Dream Course to host.

The public lecture will take place on April 23 at Noon in the Ethics & Excellence in Journalism Foundation Auditorium, Gaylord Hall room 1140, on the Norman campus. The lecture is free and open to the public. For accommodations based on disability, please contact the Gaylord College at 405-325-2721.