This past school year I moonlighted as an adjunct PR professor at Milligan University in Elizabethton, Tenn. The Public Relations Strategies class consisted of (left to right): McKenzie, Charles, Professor Pizzino, Andrew, and Remy.
This week I’ll share my recent experience as an adjunct PR professor. Next week I’ll walk you through how you can land an adjunct position.
Despite enormous demands from my PR business, it was worth it to teach an 80-minute PR class twice weekly.
“This is the best class ever!” exclaimed Remy, a public relations student.
Remy said that on the first day of the COMM 311 – Public Relations Strategies class at Milligan University in Elizabethton, TN.
That was Aug. 26, 2025.
It was also my first day as an adjunct professor.
Even though there were only four students in the class, did I feel a little pressure to live up to that standard for the duration of the fall 2025 semester?
Yep.
Practitioner vs. Theorist
The reason Remy said that was he quickly realized this introductory PR class was going to be taught by a PR professional, not a theorist with impressive educational credentials.
I hoped my nearly 40 years in the PR business would somewhat make up for not having a Ph.D.
Several students commented on how they dreaded many of their other classes.
Things went well enough at Milligan that they invited me back for the winter semester to teach another course: COMM 411 – Public Relations Writing.
The same four students enrolled in this class. Having a small class size can make it easier to figure out the world of college teaching for a rookie instructor.
Teaching: A Remarkable Experience
Suffice it to say I had the time of my life — once I figured out the syllabus for each class and the online portal (Canvas) for managing class communications, assignments, quizzes, discussion posts, learning resources, grading, and more.
Along with the curriculum lessons, I also shared current successes and challenges my PR business was facing.
Milligan gave me a lot of autonomy, which was great. For example, they let me choose the textbook for each of the two courses. And if I needed to teach a class via Zoom because I was out of town, no problem.
It was awesome to “give back” to my PR profession and honor those who mentored me over the years by teaching these students. Indeed, having started my career in 1987, I had a lot of experiences and knowledge to share.
AP Style
One of the foundations of both PR courses was mastering AP Style. To connect with a journalist or reporter, they had to learn how to write like one.
I specifically drilled into them the proper use of the Oxford comma (rule: not used in a simple series but in a complex series or when needed for clarification). For some, that was a difficult rule to master.
But, by the end of class they were all Oxford comma masters.
What’s Newsworthy?
In addition to the textbook lectures and in-class hands-on writing workshops, the students were also taught to monitor the news daily and figure out how PR pros placed many of those stories.
I emphasized the importance of thinking like a journalist so they could figure out what made for a newsworthy story. That’s absolutely crucial for successfully placing stories for a client or employer.
In almost every class we took time to look at the current news and discuss what made various stories newsworthy. This developed their “nose for news.”
Real-World PR Experience
To further deliver real-world PR strategies and tactics, each of the students had a “client” for the PR Writing class and focused their 12 writing assignments on their client.
During the course of COMM 411, they learned the art of writing a company boilerplate (the summary of a company that goes at the end of a press release), two press releases, a pitch letter, feature story, op-ed, marketing collateral copy, speech writing, social media campaign, newsletter article, and fundraising letter.
The final project was assembling all their writing samples into a portfolio and then presenting it before the class as if they were applying for a job or trying to win a client’s business. And to top it off, four local organizations/businesses were served with pro bono PR.
The Ultimate Reward
When all was said and done at Milligan, the effort and extra time I put in paid off in the comments students shared in their course evaluations.
This praise for the class and my teaching was humbling and quite moving. I don’t share this to state I’m a great teacher, for I still have a lot to learn about teaching. I’m only a PR pro with the passion and ability to talk about what I do for a living and how others can do likewise.
My four students went above and beyond in their praise for this class. They were super kind to say what they said, and their comments were worth far more to me than the compensation I received.
Here’s what the three who submitted their COMM 411 course evaluation wrote:
- A very well outlined syllabus and phenomenal support throughout the semester. Super helpful support with questions, and was proactive about upcoming assignments, moving the dates if it looked like something might get in the way. He ran this class better than any other class I’ve had at Milligan.
- This course was hands down the best class I’ve taken in all four years at Milligan. Professor Pizzino was professional, outgoing, willing to help, and constantly pushing us to be the best PR writers we could be in the best way. He tied his personal experience and professional experience with the topic into the class seamlessly, while also inviting us to think critically, have open minds, and debate topics we didn’t fully agree with. The class was small, but he used it to his advantage and built a personal relationship with each student, giving grace where needed while also grading fairly and not just giving completion grades for assignments. For each assignment, we received thoughtful and very in-depth feedback, while also getting a list of things we could do better and things that were done well. Instead of berating us when wrong, he questioned why we did what we did, then showed us a better or more effective way. This was easily the highlight of my class for me at Milligan. Professor Pizzino was awesome, and I highly recommend him for any teaching position in the future.
- One of the most thoughtfully planned courses that I have been enrolled in while at Milligan. Every assignment and conversation is built towards the next learning objective. What I valued most about this course is Professor Pizzino’s teaching style. This was not a lecture-based class; it was a lab. Every assignment was built around working with a real client. I admire the way he would show us what he was dealing with in his own PR firm. His level of transparency is unmatched, which directly impacted my success and willingness to learn.
I hope each of these students goes on to become highly successful in whatever career they decide upon.
Unfortunately, my teaching career at Milligan University is one-and-done because they’ve eliminated their journalism program (which PR was housed under). However, East Tennessee State University (in Johnson City) is considering having me teach three courses this fall. More about that in a future blog post.
The 3 Big Takeaways
- Teaching is a fantastic way to share your passion. Hopefully you’re passionate about your profession.
- Real-world experience is one of the best teaching tools.
- Learning never ends — even for the professor.
Have you ever taught before at a university? Do share!
Remember to tune in next week to learn how to land your own adjunct position.
Stay authentic in your real-world and teaching endeavors!
Jeffery E. Pizzino, APR (seen here in a vintage photo circa 1983 serendipitously doing a Clash impersonation in a since-forgotten location) is a spin-free public relations pro who is passionate about telling the why of your story with clarity, impact and authenticity. He began his PR career in 1987 at Ketchum Public Relations in New York City but has spent the majority of his career as a solopreneur. He’s the Chief Authentic Officer of the Johnson City, TN-based public relations firm, AuthenticityPR. He also functions as the fractional CCO for his clients.
Jeff has an MBA in Management from Western International University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications — with an emphasis in PR — from Brigham Young University (rise and shout!). He’s also accredited in public relations (APR). This Milwaukee, Wisconsin native holds an Italian citizenship and plans to live and work there someday. Jeff and his storyteller wife Leticia have four children and four grandchildren. In his extremely limited nonwork hours, he studies Italiano, practices guitar, write songs, gardens, works out, disc golfs, reads, listens to New Wave music, serves as an assistant communication director in his church, watches BYU football, enjoys watching the original Mission Impossible TV series, and plays board games (mostly Dominion and Seven Wonders). No, this guy’s never bored and looking for something to do. Email Jeff.
