Rosemary Pennington | Oct. 3, 2007
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| Courtesy photo |
| Elliott was willing to make a change from professional to professor. |
There aren’t many people who would be willing to drop everything to begin teaching college students. Riley Visiting Professor Dennis Elliott, however, is one of them.
The veteran public relations professional and School of Journalism alumnus (B.A. ’69) had a scant two weeks between being offered a job at the school and the start of classes. When instructor Beth Wood unexpectedly had to take off this semester for medical reasons, the school needed a top professional who could take on teaching tasks.
Elliott hit the ground running, and since the semester began, he has been dividing his time between New York and Bloomington as he awaits the sale of his house. This last month, Elliott said, has been a whirlwind, but worth it.
“I had enough of corporate land,” Elliott said. “I just wanted to take all that I’ve learned and bring it back to the students.”
Elliott has honed his public relations skills over the course of a career that has spanned nearly 40 years. At his most recent position, with iDNA, Elliott was the senior vice president for a division that handled communications for several clients in the pharmaceutical industry. His area focused on video productions, large event staging, satellite broadcasting and Web-based programs for these clients.
That experience is one of the reasons Dean Bradley Hamm wanted Elliott to step in during Wood’s absence. Wood had been teaching J321 Principles of Public Relations and J349 Public Relations Writing. Hamm had developed a rapport with Elliott during alumni visits the last few years and the decision to ask Elliott to fill in, Hamm said, was a fairly easy one to make.
“Dennis has been incredible in jumping in immediately and helping,” Hamm said. “It’s not easy to teach for the first time, especially with no advance notice. But he has some experience with universities and was willing to step in.”
Elliott said he’d been pondering a career change when the school offered him the position and he’d always wanted to come back to IU, so the decision to take over for Wood wasn’t difficult. What has been a little harder is navigating the classes; one is a large lecture, the other more like a small seminar. While Elliott said he’s enjoying both, navigating between them has taken some finesse.
“It’s a learning experience,” Elliott said of having his first teaching position happen so quickly. “What I’ve said is I’m testing myself. I’m trying to figure out what works best.”
The veteran public relations professional and School of Journalism alumnus (B.A. ’69) had a scant two weeks between being offered a job at the school and the start of classes. When instructor Beth Wood unexpectedly had to take off this semester for medical reasons, the school needed a top professional who could take on teaching tasks.
Elliott hit the ground running, and since the semester began, he has been dividing his time between New York and Bloomington as he awaits the sale of his house. This last month, Elliott said, has been a whirlwind, but worth it.
“I had enough of corporate land,” Elliott said. “I just wanted to take all that I’ve learned and bring it back to the students.”
Elliott has honed his public relations skills over the course of a career that has spanned nearly 40 years. At his most recent position, with iDNA, Elliott was the senior vice president for a division that handled communications for several clients in the pharmaceutical industry. His area focused on video productions, large event staging, satellite broadcasting and Web-based programs for these clients.
That experience is one of the reasons Dean Bradley Hamm wanted Elliott to step in during Wood’s absence. Wood had been teaching J321 Principles of Public Relations and J349 Public Relations Writing. Hamm had developed a rapport with Elliott during alumni visits the last few years and the decision to ask Elliott to fill in, Hamm said, was a fairly easy one to make.
“Dennis has been incredible in jumping in immediately and helping,” Hamm said. “It’s not easy to teach for the first time, especially with no advance notice. But he has some experience with universities and was willing to step in.”
Elliott said he’d been pondering a career change when the school offered him the position and he’d always wanted to come back to IU, so the decision to take over for Wood wasn’t difficult. What has been a little harder is navigating the classes; one is a large lecture, the other more like a small seminar. While Elliott said he’s enjoying both, navigating between them has taken some finesse.
“It’s a learning experience,” Elliott said of having his first teaching position happen so quickly. “What I’ve said is I’m testing myself. I’m trying to figure out what works best.”
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