Army signs educational agreement with Georgetown University

By J.D. LeipoldMarch 26, 2009

Army and Georgetown
Dean of the School of Continuing Studies at Georgetown University Robert Manuel signs an agreement with Army Chief of Public Affairs Kevin J. Bergner, whereby the Army will offer officers the opportunity to earn a master's in public relations/corpora... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, March 26, 2009) - The Army public affairs community signed an educational agreement Wednesday with Georgetown University to educate Army officers who wish to obtain a public relations/corporate communications masters of professional studies.

Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, chief of Army Public Affairs, and Robert Manuel, dean of Georgetown's School of Continuing Studies, put their pens to the memorandum of agreement which gives the Army the opportunity to establish an academic relationship with a globally ranked communications program at a reduced tuition rate.

Army Human Resources Command will select between two and five officers for the 2009 program which begins in June, and in 2010, HRC will select five candidates for the 18-month MPS program which sets the conditions for follow-on assignments to strategic and operational- level public affairs billets.

Berger expressed his appreciation to Manuel in making the program become a reality that will help Army Public Affairs step out of a culture of periodic dialogue and into a culture of engagement and of continuous interaction.

"This training and education will give our public affairs officers an environment where they not only learn a new approach to public relations and public affairs, but it will also place them in the culture of international relations which is so unique to Georgetown," said Bergner. "Your student body comes from all over the world, so to put our public affairs officers in that environment will add an international dimension that means a great deal to the Army."

Manuel said the formalized agreement was a true realization of his school's mission and that having such a diverse student population will bring about different perspectives in the classrooms.

"If we're going to provide the kind of education that is relevant to people's professional lives, we have to develop relationships like this one with the Army," he said. "This represents one of the best possible relationships for us, so I'm grateful for this opportunity."

Officers interested in earning a master's of professional studies should apply to HRC through their control branch.