MARCH 2006

Room with a view

By Julia Sellers

Her office overflows with projects and papers, the walls are covered with awards, and there is always a surprise, such as a toy soldier on a shelf or a football signed by the Carolina Panthers.

The piles of work are a glimpse of how Beth Dickey spends her time, the awards a taste of what she has accomplished, and the football and the soldiers a part of dipping into her fun side.

The room tells a story.

Actually, it tells two stories of Beth Dickey's interwoven life as a college professor and a high school mentor.

The professor

Dickey says in her 33 years in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications she has, like a perfect public relations professional, preferred to be part of the background, but she has struck a balance with work and personal life. She also has managed to stand out as a leader who uses her persuasive skills to push people to do their best.

Fourth-year public relations student Justin Williams said Dickey "personifies what every student thinks of when they think of their favorite professor."

Williams said he was looking for a client for Dickey's JOUR 531 class, public relations campaigns, and "she suggested I work on something I was passionate about." Williams was running for student government president, "and she inspired me to work for myself."

"Her suggestion and support led to me winning the student government presidential election," he said.

Who she is

Dickey’s professional experience has helped her carve out a path for success in academia and as an advocate for scholastic journalists. Being named to present the Scholastic Journalism Division Honors Lecture at the 2003 AEJMC Convention illuminates that point.

Dickey perfectly summed up what she is about in that lecture to scholastic journalism researchers and association directors: “Be careful what you throw away. Listen carefully. Don’t be too eager to climb the ladder. Leave your comfort zone. And always have a sense of humor.”

She says her family is very important to her. Her husband, Gary, is retired from Internal Revenue Service public affairs and is a woodturning artist. Her daughter, Erin, is a sophomore at Boston University; and her son, Kevin, better known as Drew, works on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands as a surveyor.

When she's out of the Carolina Coliseum and at home in Lexington, Dickey likes to be out on a boat on Lake Murray or to be reading, traveling, watching birds and nature, or gardening.

Her beginnings

Dickey grew up in South Carolina and edited the Chatterbox, her high school newspaper.

“The paper was awful,” Dickey said, “but it made me want to study journalism in college.”

She graduated from USC's journalism school in 1967and worked for six years as a reporter and editor in Charleston at the News and Courier and the Charleston Evening Post and then at The Columbia Record.

Scholastic journalism

In 1973, Dickey was picked to be the assistant director of the Southern Interscholastic Press Association by Al Scroggins, then dean of the journalism school. Dickey said she initially was reluctant to take the job.

“I went home and asked my husband what he thought, and he said I would be crazy not to do it,” Dickey said. “The dean knew I would come back, so he had left the spot open. I started working that March, and in May we had our first SIPA Convention. At the end of SIPA ‘06, I will have directed 34 of these conventions.”

SIPA is a regional scholastic press association that has a yearly three-day convention for high school journalists. As executive director, Dickey oversees day-to-day operations and its functions and coordinates the yearly convention.

Each year, SIPA has a silent auction to raise funds for an endowment, and the Carolina Panthers football sitting in her office was for this year’s auction. Each year, signed footballs, books, art and other memorabilia decorate her catchall shelves in between conventions.

Teaching

Although SIPA planning and events took up most of her time in her early years at the J-School, she also graded reporting labs and began work on her master's degree, which she earned in 1978. She joined the advertising and public relations faculty, earned tenure and served as sequence chair. Of the courses she's taught during her career, her favorite has become public relations campaigns.

“I work with seniors, and they take that extra step to meet you halfway,” Dickey said. The older students pay attention and come to class, she said, which is to their benefit because she has a rule about seldom repeating anything more than once.

The campaigns class has also created some of her best student stories. Dickey said one student designed a campaign for a Harley Davidson Motorcycle Club. On the day of the presentation, 30 motorcyclists from Greenville and Charlotte arrived. Some of the bikers were professionals and chief executives playing hooky for the day.

Another student who was a South Carolina National Guard pilot landed a Black Hawk helicopter on the athletic field. His event for the Guard also included an Apache helicopter, a climbing wall and a fire truck. To this day, he has had the most expensive PR campaign – at $23 million.

In 2002, Dickey became the faculty adviser for the Bateman Public Relations Case Competition with professional adviser Jeff Ranta. They oversee two or three student teams that compete with other colleges to create the best public relations campaigns for a selected client. One of the 2002 teams placed first in the nation in the competition, which was held in Hawaii. In 2004, two teams competed at Ford Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich. and emerged No. 1 and No. 3 in the nation.

“A first place in Bateman is probably like winning an Oscar,” Dickey said.

Throughout her time at USC, Dickey has been a part of award-winning teams and outstanding organizations while quietly prodding those around her.

The room tells her stories.