Professor Jean Brodey not only sustained a successful public relations career but also helped guide her students towards top positions in the field. Two Klein College alumni, Danielle Cohn, KLN ‘95, and Cathy Engel Menendez, KLN ‘93, are creating the Dr. Jean Brodey Endowed Scholarship Fund to commemorate her life.
For 28 years,Brodey, EDU ’79, was a beloved public relations professor at Temple University who was known for editing students’ work with her red pen. During her 1998 induction into the Public Relations Association Hall of Fame after 40 years of service, red pens were given as gifts, further symbolizing her passion in the field of communication.
“She really did have the greatest impact on my career,” said Cohn, KLN ’95, executive director of entrepreneurial engagement at Comcast. “A wonderful spirit and very focused on helping other women and that’s always something that I will remember in her.”
Brodey was also the director of the internship program for public relations at the college, in which role she helped students gain placements at agencies to gain hands-on experience.
“It’s hard to stay relevant and on top of things and she did that for decades,” said Menendez, KLN ’93, strategic communications consultant. “She loved teaching and excelled in public relations and if we can get that memory of her through this scholarship, that’s what is really important.”
Her strong connection to students didn’t end with their graduation. Alumni, including Menendez and Cohn, would gather at Whitemarsh Valley Inn in Lafayette, Pennsylvania, dubbing themselves the “Brodey Bunch.”
Menendez and Cohn have come together to initiate the Dr. Jean Brodey Endowed Scholarship Fund, contributing more than half of the needed costs. A total of $50,000 must be raised to establish the fund. The exact criteria for scholarship recipients has yet to be established.
The scholarship will be intended for advertising and public relations students in financial need. A preference for student members of Temple’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) chapter will be given.
Donations can be made at giving.temple.edu/brodey.