Running for National Office

Running for National office is an opportunity for you to gain unparalleled leadership experience and join a community of some of the most successful professionals in public relations.

About the National Committee

The National Committee is made up of the National President, the immediate past president, seven vice presidents, the FORUM® editor in chief, the National Professional and Faculty Advisers, and the PRSA vice president of Education.

First Steps

If you’re thinking about running for an office, review the PRSSA Situation Analysis (PDF) to learn about the responsibilities of each National Committee member. The Situation Analysis provides an overview of the Society’s history, research and timelines, and explains each National Committee position’s responsibilities and programs.

Also, contact the current National Committee member(s) who holds the office(s) you find interesting. Ask about their role and the qualifications for their position, and review PRSSA’s National Committee position descriptions (PDF).

Student Officer Requirements

Before you commit to running for National office, ensure you meet the following requirements:

• PRSSA Membership. You must be a member in good standing of an active PRSSA Chapter and maintain your membership throughout your term.
• Events. All National Committee members must attend the Leadership Retreat in June, National Conference in the fall and National Assembly in the spring. PRSSA covers your travel costs, but you are responsible for hotel and incidental costs.
• Full-time Student. You must be full-time student (by your university’s standards) from the time you are elected through fall semester.

Vice President Offices

The vice presidents on the National Committee are elected each year at the National Assembly, and serve a one-year term, starting June 1 and ending May 31 of the following year. If you are interested in running for a vice president position on the National Committee, you’ll follow the following steps:

• Send in the candidate nomination form (Word or PDF) by the deadline.
• If you fail to submit your application on time, you can run from the floor at National Assembly. In that case you must bring the full application and provide a copy for every delegate (around 125 copies). See guidelines for complete details.
• At National Assembly, you’ll give a five-minute speech and then participate in a fifteen-minute question-and-answer session with all candidates.
• Following the question and answer session, if no further questions are needed, the Assembly votes and the new officer is announced.

FORUM Editor in Chief

If your Chapter is interested in producing FORUM, you’ll need to select an editor in chief candidate to present your bid to the National Committee at their National Assembly meeting. Intent-to-bid forms (Word or PDF) are due the same time as candidate nomination forms and have full details about bidding requirements. The FORUM editor in chief serves a one-year term, starting June 1 and ending May 31 of the following year.

National President

To run for National President, you must be a member of the National Committee. If one or zero members of the National Committee wish to run for National President, then candidacy opens to all PRSSA members. In this situation, information about running for National President will be provided to all members. The National President serves one-year as National President and the following year as the immediate past president. Each term starts June 1 and ends May 31 of the following year.

National Faculty or Professional Adviser

The National Faculty and Professional Advisers serve two-year terms, starting June 1 and ending May 31 two years later. If you are interested in applying for either of these positions, contact the current National Faculty or Professional Adviser to learn more about the position, and PRSSA Headquarters to learn when applications will be due.

For more information about running for office, contact the National President or PRSSA Headquarters.