William Ehling, founder of the public relations department at Syracuse University, died Feb. 7 at the age of 93. Ehling, a professor emeritus, taught at SU from 1954 to 1991, during which he was known for his scholarly character and attention to detail.

Before his retirement, he established the SU chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America in 1968. The chapter is one of the first PRSSA chapters in the country, according to a Feb. 12 Syracuse University news release. In 1990, it was renamed after Ehling.

Bill Smullen, a professor of public relations at SU, had Ehling as a professor when he was a graduate student from 1972 to 1974. Smullen remembers how Ehling wanted his students to have a strong foundation of the principles and mechanics of public relations theory and practice, leading Ehling to give them “very demanding assignments.”

“I remember working long and hard on those papers because he established a very strong, very high standard within the department, and his expectations of the products that the students delivered were extraordinarily high,” he said. “That is a very favorite memory of him because he taught all of us extraordinarily well.”

Smullen said he ended up taking many classes that Ehling taught, and the professor soon became his faculty advisor.

Maria Russell, the chair of the public relations department, said in an email she came to Newhouse in 1970 for a degree in newspaper journalism. However, she ended up taking a public relations course with Ehling.

At first, Russell found Ehling intimidating. She said she and the other graduate students knew that he was a brilliant scholar, but he could be daunting. She remembers how his classroom chalkboard was covered in mathematical formulas that puzzled his students, but said she later realized that Ehling was ahead of his time.

“He was demonstrating that public relations could be shown to have an return on investment at a time when most people saw public relations as merely an ‘art’ or a type of in-house journalism,” she said. “He saw it as a function of management that could, and should, be evaluated and measured.”

Later, when Ehling recruited Russell to become a faculty member, she got to know him beyond the confusing math formulas.

“I got to know a much more personal Bill Ehling, one who was also an expert and author on hiking in the Adirondacks,” she said.

Last year, Smullen and other faculty members wanted to see Ehling, who was in a nursing home, with some students. Coordinating the visit was difficult, Smullen said. It was difficult to figure out how and when they would visit Ehling, Smullen added.

But, Smullen said visiting Ehling was something he felt strongly about, and finally, Ehling agreed to a visit in the spring of 2013. When they got to the home, Smullen said Ehling was waiting for them, in his wheelchair.

“I was very pleased that we ultimately succeeded in spending time with him,” Smullen said. “And it was a treasured memory.”

Carley Weinstein, a junior public relations major and the chapter president, met Ehling on that trip. He told them about the public relations industry when he was actively involved, she said. Weinstein called him “an incredible individual” and “a very sweet man,” adding that he was very poised and professional.

Laura Foti, a 2013 alumna who also went on the trip, recalled seeing a photograph of Ehling when he was younger. It reminded her that Ehling was on the forefront of public relations becoming an important industry. She added that it was a privilege to meet one of the founding members of the program

“As a student, you don’t often get to meet the great people who found your program,” she said. “And Mr. Ehling was extremely important in the field of public relations.”

Smullen said she noticed how much Ehling enjoyed talking to the students that day.

“It never leaves you,” he said. “You always want to be a professor.”

Published on February 14, 2014 at 2:16 am

Contact Ellen: ekmeyers@syr.edu | @ellenkmeyers