Clemson University

Founded in 2012 through an initial gift by Joe and Gretchen Erwin, Clemson University’s Erwin Center for Brand Communications is a “teaching hospital” for future brand communications professionals. As part of Clemson’s new School of Business, The Center’s hallmark is its curriculum model, which combines traditional academic coursework with hands-on instruction from current industry professionals. The result is a program that provides students with personal experiences and interactive access to the tools that will allow them to step straight from the classroom onto a client or agency brand team – and to be the job candidate who can hit the ground running on Day One. At The Erwin Center, students learn by doing, in disciplines ranging from advertising, marketing and creative development to research, strategy, media and analytics.

Grady College of Journalism, University of Georgia

Based on an initial concept and ongoing leadership funding from Erwin Creates, UGA’s AdPR Academy was created to aid in the advertising and public relations industries’ effort to strategically address the gap in diversity among its staff – striving for a more inclusive and welcoming environment representative of all the voices, ideas, and perspectives of our global society.

The ever-growing, global consumer market is more ethnically and culturally diverse with each generation. This means that the professionals and organizations that serve this market must truly reflect current and future generations but also be creatively nimble and innovative to build and sustain engagement with the global consumer market. The AdPR Academy is a valuable professional development experience focused on strengthening students’ industry knowledge, professional skills, and their networks of professional contacts.