CHICAGO: Hill & Knowlton is forming a higher-education asset group
to go after business from America's colleges and universities.
Sallie Gaines, a managing director in the Chicago office, will head a
team of 18 people working in the new practice area. H&K staffers in New
York, California, and Florida will also be involved.
The new practice will offer crisis counseling, issues management, and
long-range planning to schools across the country.
Maura Farrell, another managing director in the Chicago office,
explained that many university communications departments are being
downsized, and therefore lack the resources for such efforts.
H&K recently finished working with Northwestern University during a
controversy that followed the death of one of its star football players
during a pre-season practice.
