Office of Intercultural Engagement

PR Plan by: Alyssa S. Higgins

I have abided by the UNCG Academic Integrity Policy for this assignment. All elements
are my own work and adhere to the set guidelines.
Alyssa S. Higgins
11/28/15
___________________________________________________________
_________________________

Section One: Situational Analysis

Contact Information:
Office of Intercultural Engagement
Suite 062 Elliott University Center
PO Box 26170
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
VOICE 336.334.5090
FAX 336.256.2453
EMAIL:
WEBSITE: http:/www.intercultural.uncg.edu/
Hours of Operation:
Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00
Mission Statement:
The mission of the UNCG Office of Intercultural Engagement is to help prepare students
to work in a 21st century global society.

Administrative Staff:
Augusto Pea
Director
Phone: 336 334 5090
Email: aepenaes@uncg.edu
Porshe L. Chiles
Assistant Director
Phone: 336 334 5090
Email: plchiles@uncg.edu
Karen Core
Administrative Assistant
Phone: 336 334 5090
Email: k_core@uncg.edu

Short-Term Goals:
To have students and student organizations do more programing
To reach across cultural boundaries
To educate, supplement and identify affirmation

Long -Term Goals:

To engage more of campus activity that promotes inclusivity
To build relationships and collaborate with academics and student affairs to put on
activities
To engage with all of the academic departments

Strengths of Organization:

Since the Office of Intercultural Engagement has a new Director Augusto Pena it will
give the office a new fresh outlook and a chance to revamp itself on top of the name
change. Along with Gus being new most of the staff except for the Assistant Director
and Administrative Assistant are new, which is another asset to the organization. With
this new team they plan to focus more on campus inclusivity which will gain more of a
client base.
In the past the main focus was solely on this campuses students who identified as
minorities but now that the focus is on inclusivity all students on this campus will feel
accepted. The focus is also now student centered by doing basically anything that all of
the students here on campus can benefit from with their input.

Challenges of Organization:
Currently the Office of Intercultural Engagement is undergoing a major transition they
are currently under the new leadership of Gus Pena as of July 2015 and with that they
have also just recently changed the name of the office. Until July of this year the office
was formerly known as the Multicultural Resource Center or MRC, but now it is called
the Office of Intercultural Engagement or OIE.The office is currently dealing with the
struggle of having a new person become Director and learn the ropes of this campus
while also trying to address the issues that affect UNCGs student body as a whole.
Another main thing is trying to get students to adapt to inclusivity, which may be difficult
because everyone still sees this office as a place just for minority students. There is also
an issue with finding faculty especially members who may be in groups that are
generally marginalized to become advisors for different student organizations. Keeping
things cost efficient is also difficult in trying to also keep things free for students to
attend. Also getting students to want to fight for the change they want while also
accepting the fact that this institution is slow to adapt to change.

Existing Competitors:

(Campus organizations that cater to all students, including marginalized

students)
Campus Activities and Programs (CAP)
Campus Activity Board (CAB)
Spanish American Latino Student Association (SALSA)
Native American Student Association (NASA)
Neo Black Society (NBS)
International Students Association (ISA)
Proudly Representing Individuality, Diversity and Equality! (PRIDE!)
Asian Students Association (ASA)

Government and Regulatory Agencies:

Internal Revenue Service (State)
4905 Koger Blvd
Greensboro, NC 27407
Phone: 336-574-6024
Internal Revenue Service (Federal)
P.O. Box 931000
Louisville, KY 40293-100
Phone: 800-829-4833

Reference Publications:

 UNCG Campus Activities Emails

UNCG Advertisements
Channels of Communication:

Website
Social Media (Facebook, Twitter)
Print Media
Word of Mouth
Tabling
Emails
Client Publics Opportunity/Problem Client Statement:
The Office of Intercultural Engagement aims to cater to the entire student body as well
as faculty of UNCG but especially students who are at a disadvantage because of
whatever may marginalize them.

Target Public Description, Defense and Demographics:

The Office of Intercultural Engagement is a office on campus that caters to all students
on campus especially minority students, first generation college students and LGBT
students. Most programs in the office are geared to Undergraduate students both male
and female both full and part time as well as on an off campus residents. These
students are also very eager to excel in college and make the most of their college
experience by getting involved. There are a total of 10,520 students between the ages
of 18-22 who are the major pool of students this office aims to cater to. But ultimately
they aim to reach about 45% of historically underrepresented students on this campus.

Target Public Psychographics:

Innovators
Are always taking in information (antennas up)

Are confident enough to experiment

Make the highest number of financial transactions
Are skeptical about advertising
Have international exposure
Are future oriented
Are self-directed consumers
Believe science and R&D are credible
Are most receptive to new ideas and technologies
Enjoy the challenge of problem solving
Have the widest variety of interests and activities.
http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/ustypes/innovators.shtml
Achievers

Have a "me first, my family first" attitude

Believe money is the source of authority
Are committed to family and job
Are fully scheduled
Are goal oriented
Are hardworking
Are moderate
Act as anchors of the status quo
Are peer conscious
Are private
Are professional
Value technology that provides a productivity boost.
http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/ustypes/achievers.shtml

Strategic Research Design:

I would like to send a questionnaire to all undergraduate students as well as accepted
freshman student to answer different questions dealing with how they identify and how
they would like to be served by this office and any suggestions that they may have
regarding programming.
Budget Information:
The total budget will be $15,000 that includes my fee as well as all materials I will need
and use.

Section Two: Strategic Planning

Communication Objective:
To shift the mindset of staff, faculty and most importantly the students as it relates to
inclusivity and becoming part of a global society. Along with this another anticipated
outcome will be to increase student knowledge of the presence of the OIE and all of the
resources that it offers. Since the current Director is new there are no specific plans
currently involving numbers as far as goals to be reached throughout this coming year.
Provided that awareness is brought to the office in general it is our hope that it would
generate more foot traffic amongst everyone especially minorities on UNCGs campus.
This plan will take place from September 15th, 2015 up until September 15th, 2016.

To achieve these objectives both informational and attitudinal we will be able to launch a
brand new OIE to do so we will do lots of extensive research including but not limited to
qualitative attitudinal testing of students at the beginning and at the end of each school
year, as well as surveying and interviewing both faculty and students at UNCG. After
each program that the OIE hosts for the year there will be a survey that goes along with
it that you must fill out upon leaving and that data will help us better serve the UNCG
community. We will also hope in doing these things that the office will grow and flourish
immensely over this coming year and get to a point where the OIE is something that
everyone on and off campus is aware of.

Message:
Where Spartans Divided Become United
This goal of this message is to reach the marginalized population of UNCG, which is
comprised of 10,520 students from the ages 18-22 and identify themselves as part of a
minority group. It aims to reach them by creating an inclusive environment by promoting
unity among all Spartans. This message should be appealing to Innovators as they are
always seeking new information and receptive to new ideas and are willing to
experiment. This message should also be appealing to Achievers because they are very

goal oriented and will strive to achieve this inclusivity goal that the Office of Intercultural
Engagement (OIE) has for this coming year. The message is short but meaningful and
very straight to the point so anyone who comes in contact with it will understand that
they might be different but together they are all still Spartans first and foremost.

Spokesperson:
For the OIE there are two spokespersons first the Director Augusto Pea and the
Assistant Director Porshe Chiles. Pea earned his BS in Political Science with a
concentration in International Relations and a MS in Higher Education Administration
from Appalachian State University. Chiles earned her BS in Journalism with a minor in
Marketing from the University of Texas at Tyler, then went on to earn her MS in
Education from the University of North Texas. With both of their backgrounds the office
can flourish with reaching all students and effectively targeting them through marketing.
Also with the two of them being minorities it adds to their credibility in reaching minority
students.

Spokes Entity:

Where Spartans Divided Become United

This spokes entity incorporates the current logo of the OIE, which is at the bottom but
the image on top, was added to illustrate the unity of students of multicultural
backgrounds. The target public will most likely be familiar with the standard UNCG logo
that every office on campus has but when in conjunction with the hands of unity they will
stop and look at it because it will be something new and something they can relate to

because they will be looking for their flag. Innovators could relate to this spokes entity
because they have international exposure and they have a wide variety of interests so
this might be something that will attract them. Achievers will be attracted to this spokes
entity because they are professional which is something that this logo appeals to with its
simplicity.

Section Three: Communication Tactics

Event Description/Rationale:
The Office of Intercultural Engagement (OIE) will be partnering with the Spanish
American Latino Student Association (SALSA), Native American Student Association
(NASA), Asian Student Association (ASA) and the African Student Union (ASU) to host
a student organized and hosted event at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
(UNCG). The event is called My Culture is NOT a Costume and will take place
Sunday, April 10th, 2016 from 12 noon to 5 p.m. in the OIE.

The goal of this event is to educate everyone in attendance about each of the different
cultures that the student organizations will be discussing and the negative implications
of cultural appropriation, as well as helping students to become familiar with utilizing the
OIE in general. After each presentation there will be a question and answer session, so
at the end everyone will feel well versed.
This event will cater to not only just the target public of the OIE but others as well. It will
be encouraged that all students from all backgrounds as well as staff and faculty will
attend to support these UNCG student organizations who will be hosting this event.
There will be refreshments at the beginning of the event and after all of the
presentations from the four student organizations there will be a brief survey that
everyone will fill out and upon completion will receive a small token of appreciation for
attending this event as well as giving some feedback.
Since this event was sponsored by the OIE it shows students that they are willing to
support whatever they want to do as long as it is something that aligns with the mission
of the OIE. Lots of student organizations may not have the allocations or the notoriety to
host successful events on campus but by partnering with this office they can get the
word out to more students with the help of the office as well as having the financial
backing of the OIE.

Event Timeline:
February 15th, 2016: Reach out to multicultural student organizations on campus to
host/cohost the event.
February 30th, 2016: Meet with representatives from each organization to assign
planning committees and to delegate different assignments for each committee.

March 5th, 2016: Create Facebook event / Twitter hashtag / Instagram flyer to begin
creating awareness for the event.
March 15th, 2016: Midway progress meeting with all participants/hosts.
March 20th, 2016: Order refreshments, decorations and gifts for all guests.
March 30th, 2016: Send press release, pitch letter and update social media accounts.
April 8th, 2016: Final run-through of the program with all of the participants/hosts.
April 9th, 2016: Promote event at the International Festival at UNCG
April 10th, 2016: Event Day
April 15th, 2016: Assessment of all feedback from the event.

Event Day Timeline:

12:00-12:30p.m.: Opening remarks/Refreshments
12:30-1:30 p.m.: SALSA Presentation and Q&A
1:30-2:30 p.m.: ASA Presentation and Q&A

2:30-3:30 p.m.: NASA Presentation and Q&A

3:30-4:30 p.m.: ASU Presentation and Q&A
4:30-5:00 p.m.: Closing Remarks / Surveys

Event Partners/Rationale:
There will be four student organizations that the OIE will be partnering with for this event
which will be: Spanish American Latino Student Association (SALSA), Asian Student
Association (ASA), African Student Union (ASU), and Native American Student
Association (NASA).

Since the OIE is here mainly for the benefit of the students as its part of the universitys
department of student affairs, it makes sense to partner with student organizations to
sponsor their event.

Suite 062 Elliott University Center

PO Box 26170
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
NEWS RELEASE

March 30, 2016

Contact Information:
Alyssa S. Higgins, Public Relations Director
Office: (336) 334 5090
Fax: (336) 256 2453
ashiggin@uncg.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

My Culture is NOT a Costume
UNCG Students help raise awareness about multiculturalism
Greensboro, NC Students at UNCG utilize the Office of Intercultural Engagement
(OIE) to produce a student-organized event called My Culture is NOT a Costume with
only the financial help of the OIE. The event will take place on Sunday, April 10 th, 2016
in the OIE at UNCG from 12p.m. to 5 p.m.
These students are all members of four different multicultural organizations on the
campus who teamed up to put on this event. The overall purpose of the event is to
teach the rest of the student body, staff and faculty about their cultures and how cultural
appropriation can have negative implications. Feel free to look up the affiliated partners
for this event which are the UNCG Student Organizations: Spanish American Latino
Student Association (SALSA), Asian Student Association (ASA), African Student Union
(ASU), and Native American Student Association (NASA).
For more information on the event visit our website, www.intercultural.uncg.edu, also,
dont hesitate to contact Alyssa S. Higgins at (336) 334 5090 or by email at
ashiggin@uncg.edu.

###

Suite 062 Elliott University Center

PO Box 26170
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
March 30, 2016

Emily Bruzzo
Editor in Chief, The Carolinian
Elliot University Center, room 236
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Greensboro, NC 27413
Dear Emily:
I am Alyssa S. Higgins and I am writing you on the behalf of the University of North
Carolina at Greensboro Office of Intercultural Engagement (OIE). On Sunday, April 10 th,
2016 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. four student organizations will be teaming up with the Office
of Intercultural Engagement to host an event called My Culture is NOT a Costume.
This event is free and open to the public but mainly geared towards the campus
community.
The four student organizations hosting this event will be the Spanish American Latino
Student Association (SALSA), Asian Student Association (ASA), African Student Union
(ASU), and Native American Student Association (NASA). This event is aiming to
educate and create awareness about multiculturalism and the negative implications of
cultural appropriation.
I will hope to see you in attendance on April 10 th, 2016 in the OIE it will be a great time
fill free to invite anyone if you would like. Also dont hesitate to contact me for any
questions you may have my email is ashiggin@uncg.edu or you may call me at (336)
334 5090.
Sincerely,
Alyssa S. Higgins
Public Relations Director

###

Suite 062 Elliott University Center

PO Box 26170
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
For Immediate Release

Event: My culture is NOT a Costume

Who: UNCG Office of Intercultural Engagement
When: Sunday, April 10, 2016, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Office of Intercultural Engagement
Suite 062 Elliott University Center
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
Cost: Free
Contact: Alyssa S. Higgins
ashiggin@uncg.edu

Students at UNCG utilize the Office of Intercultural Engagement (OIE) to produce a

student-organized event called My Culture is NOT a Costume with only the financial
help of the OIE. The event will take place on Sunday, April 10 th, 2016 in the OIE at
UNCG from 12p.m. to 5 p.m.
These students are all members of four different multicultural organizations on the
campus who teamed up to put on this event. The overall purpose of the event is to
teach the rest of the student body, staff and faculty about their cultures and how cultural
appropriation can have negative implications. Feel free to look up the affiliated partners
for this event, which are the UNCG Student Organizations: Spanish American Latino
Student Association (SALSA), Asian Student Association (ASA), African Student Union
(ASU), and Native American Student Association (NASA).
###
Media Contact:
Emily Bruzzo
Editor in Chief, The Carolinian
Elliot University Center, room 236
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Greensboro, NC 27413
editor.carolinian@gmail.com
Controlled Communication Channels:

Emails from the OIE and each student organization to the UNCG Community
Facebook group event invitations
Student announcements

Uncontrolled Communication Channels:

Word of mouth
Press release
Instagram / Twitter mentions