The College News Association of the Carolinas is a group composed of higher education public relations professionals from public and private schools across the two Carolinas.

OUR HISTORY

The College News Association of the Carolinas was formed in 1963. Representatives of Catawba, Pfeiffer and Wofford Colleges and Furman University gathered to discuss the need for a new collegiate public relations organization. Representatives of additional institutions attended a second organizational meeting at Charlotte's WBTV/WBT radio in 1964.

Their motivation was the desire for a smaller organization than the American College Public Relations Association (later to become the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education). Even the district meetings of ACPRA drew large crowds in which public relations representatives of small institutions could become lost.

CNAC's founders also were reacting against a major movement that began at ACPRA's national meeting at The Greenbrier, West Virginia, that year, according to the late Pete Ivey, who was news director at UNC-Chapel Hill. There, development directors envisioned a new model of higher education administration in which public relations and alumni staff would report to the chief development officer.

Carolinas-based public information officers felt that ACPRA subsequently became more attuned to the interests of development than to those of public relations, and thus they needed their own organization.

Early CNAC leaders included Ken Sanford from UNC-Charlotte, Pete Ivey from UNC, Bill Reasonover of Pfeiffer, Pete Petrea of High Point University, Dick Clark of The Citadel, Buck Lawrimore of Davidson College, Mary Neal Jones of Furman, Barbara Kelley of Coker College, Joe Fantel of Beaufort Technical College, Ken Sanford of UNC-Charlotte, Bob Wilson and Don Seaver of Duke University, Wilson Davis of UNC-Greensboro, Hardy Berry of N.C. State University and Doug Reed of Western Carolina University.

Over the years, representatives of nearly all of the member institutions have stepped forward to help shape and lead CNAC.

At the beginning, CNAC programs emphasized the discussion of basic public relations skills. A major benefit of membership, particularly for new public information officers, was the mentoring which took place. Ivey was especially generous with his time and advice, and he supported younger practitioners —even those who called him for help between meetings. Ivey advised the practitioners that in order to be really successful, they should "keep one foot in the newsroom and one on campus." He meant that they had to understand the media as well as their own institutions and try to strike a balance between the two interests. It was difficult advice to follow as frustrated information officers protested, “The editor can't fire me, but my president can."

CNAC perhaps reveals itself best in its two awards — the Henry Lewis Gaston Award and the Pete Ivey Award. The Gaston Award honors the late Henry Lewis Gaston Jr., who at the time of his death was news director at Appalachian State University and was serving as chairman of CNAC. He was killed in an accident while riding his motorcycle near Boone. The Gaston Award recognizes outstanding service to the association and accomplishments in public relations for higher education.

Ivey died while serving as news director at UNC. Whereas Gaston died young, Ivey had a long and distinguished career, first as a journalist. The Ivey Award acknowledged that his "unquestioned professionalism, loyalty and generosity of spirit did more to keep the organization alive than most of us will ever realize." The award in his name is presented to a member of the news media for outstanding coverage of higher education.