Public Relations Seminar, 1952-1987

In 1952, the Public Relations Seminar was established "to permit advanced discussion of major public relations problems." The discussions were to be held at annual seminars to which a select group of public relations executives from major corporations and individuals from prestigious private firms were invited. Government officials, academics, journalists, and Seminar members were the featured speakers at the events. Harold Brayman was a founding member of the Public Relations Seminar, an organization which superseded the National Conference of Business Public Relations Executives. Brayman served on the Public Relations Seminar Committee, a sort of steering committee which planned and directed the annual seminars, from 1952 until 1961 when his election to the Council of Cornell University curtailed his ability to participate in Seminar committee meetings. He remained committed to the purpose of the Seminar, however, and did not miss a meeting from 1952 until 1982.

In 1968, Brayman was commissioned by the sponsoring committee of the Public Relations Seminar to write a history of the organization. Brayman's resulting book, Developing a Philosophy for Business Action, was published in a limited edition of 500 copies in 1969.

This subseries consists of two sub-subseries: one chronicling the annual seminars, and one concerning the writing of the history of the Seminar. The annual seminar files contain correspondence, programs, Brayman's seminar notes, lists of registrants, biographies of speakers, and occasional speeches. The years from 1951 until 1961 also contain minutes of the Public Relations Seminar Committee and proposed program topics and outlines for small group discussions.

The files concerning the history of the Seminar include correspondence from the sponsoring committee asking Brayman to undertake the writing project and Brayman’s correspondence with early members of the Seminar soliciting recollections about the founding of the organization. The files also include speech texts from 1952 until 1968 and requests for permission to quote from the seminar participants. Some of the speakers contacted were Peter Drucker, Ted Sorensen, Bryce Harlow, Dave Broder, and Glen Perry. Other files in the subseries include background material and typescript drafts of the book.