Getting the word out

The first press release Todd Sedmak ’96 ever wrote for American University—“AU to serve as voting center for Eritrean referendum”—is hanging proudly on his office wall.

Since that release went out on Apr. 19, 1993, Sedmak, AU’s Media Relations director, has written hundreds more, all with the underlying aim of advancing the university’s mission.

“We want to help promote as many people and programs here as possible,” he said. “Our goal is to promote AU’s goals and the individual schools’ and departments’ goals.”

Every day Sedmak and his staff, associate director Maralee Csellar ’99, public information officer Clark Gregor ’03, and administrative coordinator Jean Denney, field calls from media hunting for experts—while trying to attract the press’s attention to a conference, lecture, symposium, or other happening on campus. Each morning when the four walk into their office on the ground floor of the Constitution Building on the Tenley campus, they have no idea what awaits. That lack of monotony is perhaps the aspect of their profession they relish most.

“No two days are alike because 50 percent of our job is dictated by what’s happening in the news,” Gregor said. “I like the fact that I’m promoting the university and helping a reporter get their job done.”

Denney is the staff’s senior member, having come to the department in 1992. She often is the media’s initial point of contact. She books AU faculty and staff for interviews with TV, radio, and print outlets.

“We really back each other up,” she said of the foursome.

Csellar, who focuses on the School of Public Affairs, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Communication, arrived at Media Relations in 1999. An AU master’s student at the time, a professor recommended that she contact Sedmak for information on the thesis she was writing to earn her public communication degree. Three weeks after speaking with Csellar, Sedmak hired her.

Gregor is the staff’s newest member, having joined in April. As an AU undergraduate, Gregor helped design the department’s Web site. He now focuses on the School of International Service and the Kogod School of Business.

Guiding the team is Sedmak, an Ohio native who earned a master’s in public communication from AU in 1996. Two years later he took a three month leave of absence to travel the world with his wife, Beth. After visiting Vietnam, Sedmak worked with campus chaplain Joe Eldridge to establish an alternative spring break trip to the country. Last year, 30 students were enlightened by a voyage to Southeast Asia.

Last week, under the direction of Sedmak and Kathy Thompson ’02, director of public relations for the Washington College of Law, the entire staff took part in handling the logistics of Supreme Court justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer’s visit to campus.

“We’re thankful for everyone that helps us make it possible, from facilities and public safety to the students, faculty, and deans,” Sedmak said.

The key to utilizing the Media Relations staff effectively, Sedmak said, is timing.

“We enjoy working with everyone,” he said. “We need to be aware of things as early as possible so we can provide the best results to AU and our constituents.” —MU