This initial research effort has been funded by a generous grant from ConAgra Foods, Inc. Potential applications who wish to better understand this program's focus on research-based knowledge of diversity and public relations should carefully consider the following statement by Michael Fernandez, then-Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer for ConAgra Foods, and a Trustee of the Institute.

Comments by Mike Fernandez on Diversity Research Program:

Given that public relations is fundamentally about managing relationships for institutions, how we identify and communicate with diverse groups of people is often critical to success; whether that's helping to sell more product, recruit talent or manage multi-faceted public policy issues or image campaigns. As the old adage goes, "The goal is not so much to communicate, but to be understood." The challenge is that how we have traditionally thought about diversity and those who compose diverse groups are changing. This can have profound implications for the messages we craft and the tools we use in the public relations profession for years to come. If we are not careful, we can find ourselves using traditional means to interact with an increasingly non-traditional world. My goal is to make sure that the profession is adequately prepared to meet the challenges ahead so that we remain relevant within our organizations, as well as to the management we serve and the public we seek to forge relationships with.

That will require thoughtful consideration about how we recruit, retain, develop and advance diverse PR practitioners. It will also require a fundamental altering of how we think about diversity in the U.S. and globally.

The core notion of diversity itself is different and changing.

For international companies, it is not simply about ethnic and racial minorities and gender issues in the U.S.; it takes the form of understanding how best to communicate with and forge better relationships with people of different countries, customs and cultures. Particularly in the developed world there is an increasing amount of exposure to religious and cultural diversity. This has been abetted by the formation of the European Union, ASEAN, NGOs and other relatively new economic and public policy alliances, as well as by pan-European, pan-Asian and pan-Latin American forays by multinational companies.

For U.S. companies, the issue of diversity is being transformed in ways that are not clearly viewed or understood by PR practitioners.

Consider Prince George's County, MD. In 1970 it was 85% white and the big issue in local government was busing. Today it is 63% black, net real income is up, net housing values are up, and the big issue is trying to recruit a Nordstrom's. In short, PG County has transformed from a white lower middle class community, to an upper middle class bastion of black professionals working in our nation's capital. Their thoughts today are more likely to be centered on access to convenience than access to schools.

Consider Austin, TX. It has an economy that has experienced hyper-growth. Its west side is very diverse, people literally from all over the world are working in the high-tech economy (Indians, Asians, Latin Americans, Europeans, Africans). The east side of town is somewhat less diverse and integrated, and still has many poor Mexican-Americans and African-Americans who haven't found their way to the new economy.

Consider Orlando, FL. The economy is doing well due to the tourism, entertainment and restaurant sectors, the great influx of elderly enjoying their golden years, and the great influx of Cubans, Central Americans, and South Americans who are taking jobs at senior centers and in those aforementioned key economic sectors. Latinos want to see economic growth and investment in schools. Elderly tend to want to enjoy their lives, don't want to see a lot of growth and feel as though they've already done their part in contributing to education.

Consider changes in the U.S. Latino community. Today the immigration rates are as high as ever. There are various states of assimilation and acculturation, such that large segments are now English dominant. There are newcomers who, despite public policy misinformation, want to learn English. There are 2nd generation families that fear losing their culture, and 3rd generations that have little connection to their forebears other than appreciation for Latin music, rice and beans. There are also an increasing number of 3rd and 4th generation Latinos who are part of a retro-cultural trend to rediscover roots, learn the language, study for a semester or year in a Spanish-speaking country, and re-adopt elements of the culture. Additionally, there is a growing urban sub-culture where Spanglish is spoken, and tattoos and street cred are the order of the day. Add to all of this that Jorge Ramos, the anchor newsman of Univision, now has a larger audience in major markets than the anchors at ABC, CBS and NBC, and that the combined population of U.S. Latinos is larger than the total population of Canada.

Consider changes in the U.S. education of African Americans and Latinos. Because it is not "cool" for young men to succeed in school, minority females are the most likely to go to college and enter the job market successfully.

Consider increasing numbers of interracial and interethnic marriages, and the children who live their lives in two or more cultures. Richard Rodriquez made the comment in a PBS interview - after Bill Moyers asked him if he thought of himself as "Latino," "Hispanic," "Mexican-American," "Chicano" or "Mexican" - that he was "becoming Chinese." That is, he was living in San Francisco's Chinatown and assimilating to his environs, eating more Chinese food, picking up Chinese words and more understanding of Chinese customs.

In short, to quote Yogi Berra: "The future ain't what it used to be." The world is changing and our neighborhoods are changing. Public relations will no doubt need to change too, if it is to truly relate to and be relevant to a public that is changing.

We are not looking to rehash or add to the studies that simply profile the profession itself. We also want to make sure that, in studying how we communicate with diverse audiences and through diverse channels, we are cautious about preordaining definitions that make us blind to the changing dynamics referenced, only in part, above.