TO consolidate the Thomasian message in time for the University’s quadricentennial celebration in 2011, the University hired the services of a major public relations firm Public Affairs and Alumni Office (PAAO) Director Cristina Cabral said.
Cabral said EON, the local affiliate of Edelman, the fifth largest global public relations network and the world’s largest independently owned public relations firm, will help the University draft a message that would affirm 400 years of Thomasian core values in time for the celebration.
“Aside from compassion, commitment and competence, the University communicates other messages, which might confuse the people outside.” Cabral said. “EON helps us come up with the messages that we want to convey as we turn 400.”
Cabral said a relations firm does not only evaluate the University and help create a roadmap for the celebration, but also gives an outsider perspective.
She also clarified that the University hired EON to help find the Thomasian niche in the 21st century.
“It is not about image-building, it is about getting our message across,” Cabral said.
Although no definite Thomistic message has been presented, Cabral said EON’s ideas will focus on the Thomasian identity, the University’s cultural heritage, and the legacy of Asia’s oldest institution of learning.
A series of workshops have also been conducted by EON since April to discuss the message UST wants to convey to the public.
“With EON, we had the Messaging Platform Workshop, for the chosen top 15 people in the University that would craft the message for 2011, and a student-media training series, where 12 presidents of recognized student organizations were trained to speak in behalf of the University regarding its quadricentennial,” Cabral said. L. J. D. Postrado
