Marcia Aaron

The Journalism Advancement Council, created in 1984, is a select group of alumni and friends of the School. The council's main charge is to provide advice and assistance to the dean and faculty regarding issues that will benefit students -- enhancing and improving curricular programs as well as generating major gift support to fulfill School needs.

The members represent the many communication industries that relate to the School, and each member offers expertise for maintaining the School's progressive curriculum and for creating partnerships with professional communities. The following three alumni were recently named to the JAC.

Marcia Aaron, '86

Marcia Aaron is a managing director for Alex Brown & Sons, Inc., an investment banking firm in San Francisco. Shortly after completing her degree at the UO, Aaron landed her first job in the securities industry. In her present position, she travels around the world, analyzing specialty retail and consumer products and evaluating their potential for investors.

In her senior year, Aaron, an advertising student, was a member of the School's advertising competition team that won the district, placing third in the United States with its creative plan for Burger King. "The skills I learned both in the classroom and through extracurricular activities have proved invaluable," she says.

Neal Rosen

"I'd like to help continue to improve the J-school and guide it to being the best in the nation. Hopefully, my experience in the financial community can be an asset to the School."

Neal Rosen, '74

Neal Rosen is a partner in Kalt, Rosen and Associates, Inc., a public relations firm dealing in corporate, financial and marketing communications in San Francisco. He has written for UPI, the Oregon Journal and the Register-Guard.

Rosen's more than 20 years of public relations experience includes regional firms in Portland and San Francisco, and account management positions in the Los Angeles offices of two national firms, Burson Marsteller and Fleishman-Hillard.

In 1985, he relocated to San Francisco to start Kalt, Rosen and Associates.

"Looking back, education at the UO School of Journalism was highly focused on the practical, with an appropriate element of the theoretical," Rosen says. "My sense is that that remains true today. I want to add what I can to the practical side of the equation."

Diane Sorensen, '75

Diane Sorensen

Diane Sorensen began her advertising career at Foote, Cone & Belding, San Francisco, where she worked on the Levi-Strauss, Clorox and Armour-Dial accounts. Over the past 18 years in Seattle, she has worked on both the agency and client side of the advertising business.

From 1983 to 1996 she served as principal and creative director for Sorensen Roberts & Hansen, a full-service advertising and public relations agency that grew to be eighth largest in Seattle. In November of 1996, she and her husband opted for quality of life and a return to their creative roots as an art director and copywriter team, launching Doug&Diane Creative Partners. The pair now works as an independent creative team for Intergraph Computer Systems, Microsoft and Fluke Corporation, among others.

"The School of Journalism has had a huge influence on my life," Sorensen says. "Serving on this committee is one way I can make a contribution and say thank you. I'm particularly interested in the internship and what can be done to bring more J-School students to West Coast agencies and organizations.

"I think the school's strong ties with the professional community make a remarkable difference in how well students are prepared for their first professional jobs."