PUBLIC RELATIONS
A Purple Passion for Public Relations ROBIN STREET CELEBRATED TEACHER, PURPLE-CLAD ADVOCATE FOR DIVERSITY AND ACCEPTANCE, RETIRES FROM UM
BY MICHAEL NEWSOM
Robin Street’s office in Farley Hall is lined with business cards from her former public relations students and a wall full of photos with them. The mementos are powerful reminders of the lives she has touched over nearly three decades at the University of Mississippi. Street, a senior lecturer in journalism, retired in May. After being hired in 1990 to teach news reporting and direct the high school press association, Street later asked Samir Husni, thenchair of the department, if he would allow her to take over the PR classes from a retiring colleague. She’s mentored thousands of students over the years, and many of them owe their success to her. The Oxford native, who is often clad in her favorite color, purple, said she hopes she’ll be remembered most for helping them grow. “I get emails and texts from them all the time that say, ‘Oh, Ms. Street, I thought about you today because my employer wanted me to do something and I pulled out my notes from your class and I knew exactly how to do it’,” Street said.
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“Nothing makes my day more than getting those messages.” But, the always smiling, upbeat teacher didn’t start out as a confident molder of minds. She first wanted a master’s degree in public relations, but at the time, UM offered only a master’s in journalism. She was less than thrilled, but pursued it anyway. “That scared me to death because at that time, I was so shy and the idea of interviewing people terrified me,” Street said. “Kicking and screaming, I got a master’s in journalism and just fell in love with it, especially the ability to interview people and gather information and turn it into a concise, hopefully interesting, article.” That shy nature also manifested itself the first time she taught at Ole Miss.
“I can clearly remember how very nervous I was,” Street said. “Once I got over the initial fear, I began to see the lightbulb come on over a student’s head. That has been so rewarding to me: to be able to teach a student something and have it make sense for them.” She has had a stellar career, evidenced by her many professional accomplishments. The Public Relations Association of Mississippi, known as PRAM, named her Educator of the Year in 2009 and Professional of the year in 2014 and she was chosen as the overall winner from among all the states that belong to the Southern Public Relations Association. In the history of both organizations, only one other person has been named both Educator of the Year and Professional of the Year. All told, she has more than 30 other professional awards. Also, more than 150 of her students have won awards in the student PRism competition. Every student “Best in Show” award given by PRAM has gone to one of her students. Street also leads with a conviction to support acceptance and inclusion whether
