Fred Cook, CEO of GolinHarris, spoke to students on the importance of marketing and public relations on Wednesday. (Sidney Hollingsworth/The Daily Campus)

SMU’s Division of Communication Studies has grown to new heights. The department introduced its new public relations and strategic communication major this past Tuesday and Wednesday with a special workshop called “Future Speak: Public Relations Today and Tomorrow.”

The two-day event included a keynote address by CEO of GolinHarris Fred Cook, student workshops and a guest speaker luncheon. The department invited communication practitioners and students to learn more about the developing profession from an agency at the forefront of the industry.

“This major, 50-year-old company… revamp[ed] its business model to address today’s high-speed, media-intense, integrated PR field,” Nina Flournoy, communications senior lecturer, said. “This is the kind of innovation we want to share with our PR students.”

Cook has worked at GolinHarris for nearly 25 years. The firm services a variety of big-brand clients such as McDonald’s, General Mills and Wal-Mart and specializes in real-time marketing, corporate communication and public affairs.

Students crowded the Bob Smith Auditorium in Meadows Museum Tuesday night to hear how Cook transformed his company in the digital age.

“The media environment was changing so fast, but nobody was doing anything about it-except us,” Cook said.

Cook said his clients don’t just want one-way communication anymore; they want insight, integration, ideas and engagement. To better serve its clients, GolinHarris moved away from the traditional hierarchical agency model to the “G4” model, which separates employees into creators, connectors, catalysts and strategists.

“We had more ranks than the U.S. Army. The higher up you got, the more clients you had, the longer you had been there. We decided to blow it up,” Cook said. “We wanted people to do things they were passionate about, that they were good at so [that] they could do a better job.”

In a Wednesday morning workshop, “My First Two Years as a Public Relations Professional,” Cook talked about his first few jobs. Cook spent time working as a cabin boy and travelled throughout the Middle East and Asia in his early 20s. He encouraged students to get internships and experiences outside of the classroom to enhance their resumes.

“I think school is important, but I’m a big believer in life experience,” he said. “If you don’t get out and get to know the [world] you’ve missed a huge opportunity.”

The new Bachelor of Arts. program promises to give students an opportunity to become competitive public relations professionals. Students will “create and manage multi-media communication messages” for any corporate or nonprofit organization “through coursework across advertising, communication studies and journalism” disciplines.

Sandra Duhé, communications professor, heads the new program.

“We are genuinely excited about this program,” Duhé said. “These students will be the next generation of PR professionals.”

Duhé said the division of communication studies will be introducing degree requirements mid-October.

Once introduced, students will have the opportunity to declare public relations as a major or double major. A number of journalism, advertising or communication studies courses will also be offered to satisfy degree requirements in media and technology, diversity, internship, campaigns and ethics.

The kickoff concluded Wednesday afternoon with a panel luncheon featuring Cook and Linda Rutherford, vice president of communication and strategic outreach at Southwest Airlines. Professor Maria Dixon, who began planning the program 18 months ago, wrapped up the event with her expectations for the future.

“Continue to watch for great things at the program,” Dixon said. “We started off great, and we can only get better.”