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UTSA students place in national competition

(April 29, 2004)--UTSA communication students Zinnia Dunnis, Jorge Garcia, Perry McDonald, Darlene Talamantez, and Isabell Valdez received an Honorable Mention award in the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) National Bateman Case Study Competition.

It is the third consecutive year that UTSA participated in and placed in the highly competitive annual event. In 2002, UTSA students received Honorable Mention in the school's first team entry.

Sixty-two teams from across the nation participated in this year's competition. Three teams received top honors, while UTSA's team placed Honorable Mention along with 14 other teams including the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Florida. The schools are known nationally and internationally for their top-rated public relations programs.

Ali Kanso El-Ghori, adviser for the UTSA team said, "Being recognized by the Bateman judges for the third year in a row places UTSA's public relations program and its students among the top in the country. Our students worked hard and this recognition of their public relations expertise is well deserved. This is the equivalent of having a basketball team in the ‘sweet 16’ for three consecutive years."

Since 1973, the National Bateman Case Study Competition has given college students the opportunity to apply their skills in a real-world public relations campaign. The competition offers students an opportunity to exercise the analytical skills and mature judgment required for public relations problem-solving.

The competing teams developed and implemented a public relations and marketing communication campaign that would educate high school seniors and college students about the responsible use of credit cards.

PRSSA is a pre-professional organization comprised of 232 chapters and more than 7,000 students nationwide. The organization helps to enhance students' knowledge of public relations while providing access to professional development opportunities.

For more information about PRSSA's Bateman competition, visit http://www.prssa.org/resources/bateman.asp or contact Steven Levitt, UTSA Department of Communication chair, at 210-458-5990.

--Steven Levitt