Representatives from the worlds fourth fourth largest public relations firm will team up with a WVU P .I. Reed School of Journalism adjunct and the WVU Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute to help students learn about health communications and public relations.

Clifton Hotvedt, vice president of medical and scientific affairs for Ketchum New York, and Hal Walker, senior vice president and creative director for Ketchum Global Healthcare Practice, will help students develop a public relations plan and strategy for one or more of the Institute’s key initiatives. Both executives are based in Ketchums Manhattan offices and work with healthcare clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to academic medical centers.

The two will travel to Morgantown Feb. 7 to start the initiative. The class is one of several the SOJ will offer throughout the coming semesters to bring in top-notch, experienced professionals to train journalism students in cutting-edge, real-world business practices.

“I cannot think of a better way to take the classroom into the PR firm and into the real world of public relations in the 21st century,”said SOJ Dean Christine Martin.”And I cannot thank Ketchum enough for sharing its time, energy and expertise with our students. What a remarkable marriage of academia and a world-class agency.”

Chuck Harman, a WVU SOJ public relations adjunct, developed the class and set up the cooperative agreement between Ketchum and the WVU Health Sciences Center.

“This unique educational opportunity provides SOJ students with valuable real-world experience,”Harman said.”With Ketchums assistance, the students will also make a valuable contribution to the Blanchette Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute.”

The two senior executives from Ketchum, a $30 million public relations firm, will assist the class and provide”mentoring”experiences to students through Morgantown visits and teleconferences. Students may also travel to Ketchum’s Pittsburgh or Washington, D.C., offices.

Hotvedt and Walker will speak to public relations students at 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 7 in Martin Hall about the current job market and give students advice on making their portfolios stand out. They will then meet with Harman’s students in his Public Relations 493: Current Issues in Health Public Relations class.

The Neurosciences Institute has been chosen as the”client”for this class. This new, multi-million dollar international medical research center will focus on neuroscience research and the development of new drugs and diagnostics to treat neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease.

Students in the class will be exposed to theoretical, professional and practical aspects of healthcare public relations.

Dr. Ernest Villafranca, the institutes director and chief executive officer, said the project will help the Institute on several fronts. The Institute will be able to get its message out to the community, other neurosciences institutes and the pharmaceutical industry.

“Its a part of our agenda to serve to educate,”Villafranca said.”To reach out to journalism to bring our world to themIm just thrilled that Chuck was able to put this together.”