By Kate Beard, public relations, '10

The Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma has completed its second phase of building and is pleased to announce the opening of the new public relations and advertising agency.

This agency is housed on the second floor of the new addition and will be completely student run. This will allow students to have an opportunity to work with non-profit and small businesses in an actual work environment.

“The students are going to be the leaders, the people who go out and get the clients who talk to the clients everyday,” David Tarpenning, agency adviser said. “We already have some clients that have spoken to us. We are really excited about that because this is a great opportunity to start working with some people in the business world.”

Several students have been given the opportunity to work this summer helping to develop the agency. The students that are involved this summer are leaders in Gaylord College. Each student went through an application process to ensure that the students running the agency will be of the most qualified at the Gaylord College.

It is a huge benefit to Gaylord and it’s students to have an agency within it’s walls. Very few universities are given the opportunity to have such an educational medium to work in.

“The students have made a tremendous commitment and that commitment matches the commitment the college has made, giving us the space, giving us the equipment, giving us the time and also helping us by putting together this class during the summer so they have a startup class,” Tarpenning said.

During the summer students will develop the agency mission statement, name and begin to work with clients.

“In July we will be doing the planning for our corporate identity.” Tarpenning said. We will be naming the agency we will be doing a lot of preliminary work so when everyone is back in September we will hit the ground running.

Robert Pritchard, from Ball State University, along with Tarpenning are instructing students this summer in the preparation of the agency.

For more information on how to become involved with the public relations and advertising agency at Gaylord College please contact David Tarpenning at (405) 325-5278 or at dtarpenning@ou.edu.