Environmental Studies buys
250 billboards for publicity
■Alumni pony up millions
of dollars in donations to help
pump the image of Oregon’s
top-tier environmental program
By Abe Vibrone
Oregon Daily Emerald
In an attempt to draw better stu
dents and higher academic rankings,
the University’s Environmental
Studies program announced plans to
blanket the United States with bill
boards advertising the program.
The new public relations cam
paign began earlier this year, and
program members claim they are
already seeing much-needed na
tional exposure.
“This whole concept has been
created to bring attention to the im
portance of the environment, our
environmental studies program and
the University as a whole,” Univer
sity spokesman Kyle Lundgrass
said “And it seems to be working.
We’ve gotten a lot of feedback. ”
The public relations plan calls for
placing more than 250 large bill
boards throughout Oregon’s highway
system and major metropolitan areas
across the country, such as Times
Square in New York City and Holly
wood Boulevard in Los Angeles. The
department also unveiled a giant bill
board —100 feet by 80 feet — on the
side of Prince Lucien Campbell Hall.
“Academic writers and journalists
from the East Coast—like the Chron
icle of Higher Education—constant
ly overlook our program because we
do not have adequate public rela
tions,” said Glenn Farr, interim di
rector of the program. “They see us
as another ‘Left Coast’ environmen
tal studies department. ”
One of the billboards shows a
photo of Farr standing in a white
background with the words “Tree
Hugger” painted over his name. An
other shows a happy gay couple in
an American-Eagle-catalog-style
setting. Other billboards show dif
ferent faculty members conversing
with noted environmentalists such
as John Muir, William Clay Ford, Jr.
and Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey.
While Farr would not put a price
tag on the billboards, he admitted
they cost between $100,000 and
$250,000 to place. The publicity is
already starting to pay off, he said.
Lundgrass said the timing of the
new billboards was just right be
cause national magazines such as
U.S. News and World Report and the
Chronicle of Higher Education are
beginning to rank academic pro
grams for the 2002-03 academic year.
While the University’s environmen
tal studies program is constantly
ranked high, Farr said he would like
to see a ranking in the top five.
“These billboards are a reflection of
the quality of the program,” he said.
“I’m just tickled proud by all of this.”
Members of the department said
that although the cost of the bill
boards is high, none of the money
came from University funds; a group
of alumni from the program donated
the money for the billboards.
“I am happy to help create some
thing that truly says ‘University of
Oregon Environmental Studies,”’
said Kendall Gilman, a 1994 grad
uate with a minor in environmen
tal studies who is somehow re
markably successful.
However, some New Yorkers, both
inside and outside the environmen
tal world, questioned the program’s
need for a billboard in Times Square.
“This cost the University of Ore
gon a lot of money and trees,” said
Sierra Club member Beth Richards.
“And it still looks cheap.”
Pointing to the billboard in Times
Square, hot dog dealer Salem Wash
The University of Oregon Environmental Studies department hopes that the new billboard
advertising campaign will increase student enrollment in classes. So far students are just
excited that the billboards cover up dilapidated old buildings like PLC.
ington asked, “What the hell is that?
Don’t they have any decency?”
But Farr was not deterred.
“They may not like it, but they are
talking about our environmental stud
ies program,” he said. “This is benefit
ing the entire school by bringing na
tional attention to the University.”
The Emerald hopes you enjoyed
this April Fools Day story.
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