Historic Tuesday Talk: President Eisenhower takes back the focus

Southeast Mass Media Department chair Dr. Pam Parry embraced the opportunity to talk about her passions of media history, her many years of research and her love for museums when she presented “Eisenhower: The Public Relations President on Sept.18 at Crisp Museum on River Campus.

History Tuesday Talks consist of discussion topics, informational presentations or movements concerning historical influences. Parry’s presentation discussed the historical media influence that Eisenhower made in his lifetime and the impacts he made as president of public relations.

“This is one of my passions to talk about. I have given variations of this talk over the past few years, and this lecture is still in the making,” Parry said.

Parry is not only a professor at Southeast, but an author, who is writing her second book called “Eisenhower and Gender: Changing the face of Politics.” The book is about the women he appointed and why it mattered when changing the face of politics.

Throughout the lecture, Parry interacted with her audience about the humor and character of Eisenhower while referring to the achievements he made in the industry.

“He has appointed more women in government than any president before him, and a lot of people don’t know that about him,” Parry said.

She said the goal of the presentation is to enhance knowledge, conversation and understanding about Eisenhower, beyond his “known” achievements.

During her lecture, Parry mentioned the importance of understanding how media shapes culture.

“Our 34th president of the United States, Eisenhower, believed that public relations and journalism were foundational to American democracy, and it affected how he ran the country,” Parry said. “What we do matters.”

Historic Talk Tuesday is a weekly event held at 7 p.m. in Crisp Museum.