Gregg Feistman, assistant chair for public relations and associate professor of practice, will be inducted into the Philadelphia Public Relation Association’s Hall of Fame on May 1st.

An organization for communications professionals in the Philadelphia area, the PPRA Hall of Fame was created to recognize Public Relations professionals who have brought honor and recognition to both the public relations community and to the broader community. They’ve inducted one individual every year since the Hall of Fame began in 1972.

“When I found out I was being honored, I was certainly flattered and relieved,” Feistman said. “I was fortunate enough that one of my colleagues here at Temple supported my nomination through the process.”

At Klein College, Feistman heads the Public Relations major and was heavily involved in the revamping and expansion of the program two years ago. The updated program is now expanded, offers more classes, and has been made more contemporary to match the evolving industry.

Feistman is also a member of the Philadelphia chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. He has served in several leadership roles there, as well as being the faculty advisor for both Temple’s Public Relations Student Society of America chapter and the student run PRowl public relations agency.

“I really value being as involved as possible,” Feistman said. “Teaching students, learning from them in return, going to workshops, seeing other professionals speak. It’s all important to me.”

Prior to his now 16 years at Temple, Feistman worked in the communication and public relations industry for 23 years. He started in the non-profit sector before spending some time in corporate positions, then when an opportunity arose to work at a university, he took the chance.

“As I recall, I was hired about two weeks before the semester started and had never written a syllabus before,” Feistman said. “At that point, I’d never taught before but I thought it would be fun, and sometimes jumping into the deep end is the best way to learn.”

As for the Hall of Fame nomination and induction, Feistman said that though he is honored, he could not have gotten here on his own.

“From when I first started in the field to today, I have had an amazing network of support,” Feistman said. “It’s really due to a lot of people believing in me along the way.”