Dr. Steve Iseman was recently awarded the Dr. F. H. Teahan Chapter Award for Outstanding Faculty Advisor at the 2011 Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) National Conference in Orlando. This award is based on a Faculty Adviser’s outstanding service to the Ohio Northern University PRSSA chapter through dedication and creative chapter guidance, effective student motivation and exceptional contributions to public relations education. PRSSA is made up of more than 10,000 students and advisers organized into 323 plus chapters in the United States and one in Argentina. PRSSA is headquartered in New York City, and led by a National Committee of PRSSA and PRSA members.
Iseman was a professor at ONU, who headed the public relations program and advised the ONU PRSSA chapter for 18 years. He retired from ONU in May of 2011. Prior to teaching at Ohio Northern, he was on the faculty at The Ohio State University and worked in public relations for over 20 years for a variety of organizations.
According to a letter submitted in support of his nomination, “Dr. Iseman’s involvement reaches well beyond ONU and central Ohio. He has made significant contributions to public relations education nationally. He was co-chair of the PRSA Educational Affairs Committee, a member of the PRSA Educators Academy Board of Directors and in 2007 served as the National Faculty Advisor for PRSSA. He also is a long-time member of the Commission on Public Relations Education, and since March of 2010 has served as a member of the PRSA National Board of Directors.”
Another support letter spoke to his approach to education and advising, “At ONU, Dr. Iseman never takes a back seat to helping his students learn through PRSSA. However, he leads in a way that allows his students to make choices and learn from their mistakes. Ohio Northern PRSSA is truly a student-run chapter, but Dr. Iseman is always available for leadership and guidance in the most insightful ways. For example, during my time in the chapter Dr. Iseman was so encouraging when I mentioned I would like to apply to lead a chapter development session, but the work of developing the topic and leading the presentation team was left to me. This form of leadership helped me to have the confidence to go for my goals because I knew I always had a resource to turn to. It helped develop my leadership ability and turned me in to a stronger public relations professional.
Iseman is a past winner of the Central Ohio PRSA chapter’s “Tom Poling Practitioner of the Year Award” and the “Walt Seifert Award for Service to Students” He is the only member of the chapter to receive both of its top individual honors. Both the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and the American Advertising Federation (AAF) have recognized him for his work. Ohio Magazine presented him an “Excellence in Education” award as one of Ohio’s top professors in 2004 and his colleagues at Ohio Northern University selected him for the “Eleanor H. and Robert W Biggs Endowed Professorship in the Arts." Iseman holds the Accredited in Public Relations (APR) designation from PRSA and is a member of the PRSA College of Fellows. In 2009 PRSA recognized him with the “Outstanding Educator Award” at their conference in San Diego.
Iseman is a graduate of Edward Lee McClain High School in Greenfield, Ohio and holds the Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) from Ohio University, the Master of Education (M.Ed.) from Xavier University and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) from The Ohio State University. He and his wife A. Sue are the parents of three grown children, S. Dane Iseman, Alissa M. Sterling and Jonathan M. Iseman. The Isemans split their time between homes in Greenfield, Ohio, and Ada.