Past: Eisenhower: The PR President, talk by Dr. Pam Parry

The Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum at Southeast Missouri State University’s River Campus will host Dr. Pam Parry, chair of Southeast’s Department of Mass Media, as part of its “Historic Tuesday Talk” series at 7 p.m. Sept. 18.

Parry will present “Eisenhower: The Public Relations President.” This presentation is free and open to the public.

Parry will discuss how President Dwight D. Eisenhower was this nation’s most transformative public relations president. He created a free-standing federal agency for communications, hired the first woman associate press secretary, and empowered his press secretary, who is the most influential press secretary in American history. He also placed the presidential press conference on the record, changing forever how presidents meet the press. Parry will also address how the 34th president of the United States might have handled Twitter, if it were around in the 1950s.

Parry is the author of “Eisenhower: The Public Relations President.” She is currently writing a second book on Eisenhower, titled “Eisenhower and Gender: Changing the Face of Politics,” set to be published in June 2019. She is the lead co-editor of the book series “Women in American Political History,” which has produced five titles focused on influential women throughout the history of American politics. She currently serves on the Historians Review Board for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, as one of five academic scholars nationwide providing advice about displays, exhibits, films and corresponding interpretative language as the museum undergoes a complete redesign and expansion.

Parry holds a doctoral degree in mass communication with an emphasis in media history from The University of Southern Mississippi and a master’s degree in communication from the American University. She holds a Bachelor of Journalism in magazine editing and writing from the University of Missouri-Columbia and has interests in history and politics. In 2009, she was named Teacher of the Year by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s Small Programs Interest Group. In 2016, she received the Applegate Award for Excellence in Research from the Kentucky Communication Association.

The Crisp Museum’s “Historic Tuesday Talk” series consist of short, informational presentations and discussion sessions, and topics can include movements, Civil War, World War I, riverboats, railroads, socio-cultural issues, space exploration, regional history, natural resources, fossils, geology and more. For more information, semo.edu/museum/education.html.

Crisp Museum is located inside Southeast Missouri State University’s River Campus at 518 S. Fountain St., Cape Girardeau, Missouri. For more information, email museum@semo.edu or call (573) 651-2260.