College of Communications and Information Studies

Michael J. Ruehling is Vice President-Federal Legislation for CSX Corporation, where he heads the company’s Washington, D.C. office and directs the company’s federal government affairs activities. Ruehling began his career with CSX in 1989 as the company’s Kentucky government relations resident-vice president.  Between 1995 and 2002, he was CSX’s Vice President-State Relations, overseeing government relations activities in 23 states from the company’s headquarters in Richmond, VA.  He was appointed head of the CSX Washington office…

Charlotte S. Tharp retired as Norton Healthcare Vice President of Mission and Outreach in January 2010.  She was responsible for community involvement, the Office of Child Advocacy, Pastoral Care, Office of Church and Health Ministries, special projects and Community Trust Fund as well as serving as executive staff for the Ethics Council and Church and Health Ministries committees of the Board of Trustees.  She served as Vice President of Public Relations for Norton and its…

Jim Williams’ career as a journalist and a member of racetrack management spans more than four decades.  A sportswriter at The Lexington Herald while attending college, he joined Keeneland in 1971 and retires at the end of this year after more than 38 years with the company. Williams succeeded J.B. Faulconer as Keeneland’s Director of Publicity in November, 1971 and, ultimately, assumed the title of Director of Communications for the Central Kentucky based Thoroughbred race…

Rod Wenz retired as Chairman and CEO of The Wenz-Neely Company, a Louisville-based public relations firm that served such clients as Kentucky Fried Chicken, Dollar General Corporation and the Louisville InternationalAirport.Wenz-Neely was Kentucky’s largest PR firm when it was sold to Shandwick, aBritish company, in 1989. Shandwick ultimately became part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, the world’s largest advertising and public relations organization. Wenz continued to serve as CEO of Kentucky operations through 1994.…

Jay Rayburn, APR, CPRC, Ph.D., Fellow PRSA is head of the public relations and advertising division in the Department of Communication at Florida State University. Jay began his academic career at the University of Kentucky in 1975. He was a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Telecommunication for one year, and a visiting assistant professor in the School of Journalism for one year before being hired on a regular line in 1977. During his…

James M. Wiseman is Vice President for Corporate Affairs at Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA), located near Cincinnati in Erlanger, Kentucky.Mr. Wiseman joined Toyota in 1989 and managed the statewide public affairs program for Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, located in Georgetown. In 1996, he led Toyota's public affairs department when its North American manufacturing headquarters was established in Erlanger. Today, Mr. Wiseman oversees Corporate Affairs for TEMA, a consolidation of Toyota's…

Bernie Vonderheide is truly a credit to the public relations profession.  Over the years, he has earned the admiration and respect of his colleagues and, most significantly, members of the news media. When Mr. Vonderheide came to the University of Kentucky in 1974, he set a goal to turn the UK Public Relations Department into an aggressive media relations and marketing organization.  As chairman of the UK Press, Radio and TV Committee, Mr. Vonderheide arranged…

Tom Preston is a veteran of the Public Relations profession in both public and private sectors.A UK journalism graduate, Preston opened his Lexington PR company in 1968. The firm quickly became multi-disciplined in expertise and international in scope. Clients included CSX, Jefferson-Pilot, Ashland, Inc., Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Arch Mineral, the U.S. Selective Service, Florida Hospital, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Dow Corning, Air Product and Chemicals, Occidental Petroleum, and 3M.Another client was the eventual majority…

Kentucky has been a very important part of Lois Mateus' life since her childhood days growing up on her family's farm in Harrodsburg.After graduating from the University of Kentucky, Lois began her communications career in the public information office of state government. Her boss at the time was Jim Host, the current Commerce Secretary. She later edited the Journal of Kentucky Libraries and directed the Kentucky Historical Events Celebration Commission for the Commonwealth's 1976 observance…

Dan Lacy has forged a remarkable career in corporate and community relations.Dan Lacy joined the PR Department of Ashland Inc. in 1975. His vision and capacity for managing critical issues won him the Vice Presidency of Corporate Communications in 1986. Twelve years later, he became Vice President of Corporate Affairs and was tapped for Ashland's Executive Committee. Today, he's responsible for corporate philanthropy, employee/shareholder communications, event coordination plus community and media relations.Chair-elect of the Kentucky…

Jim Host is chairman of Host Communications, Inc., which he founded in Lexington, KY in 1972. The company became a subsidiary of Bull Run Corporation in December 1999.Host began his career as a sportscaster in 1957 and was a play-by-play announcer of University of Kentucky football and basketball for the Kentucky Central Sports Network and WVLK-Radio. He joined Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati where he spent several years in marketing and sales. He returned to…

Jack Guthrie is chairman and chief executive officer of Guthrie/Mayes Public Relations, one of the largest independently owned public relations firms in Kentucky.Jack started his public relations career with Philip Morris Inc. in New York in 1964. He returned to Louisville in 1971 to serve as executive vice president of the Kentucky Derby Festival and currently serves as an honorary director. Under his direction, the Festival grew ten-fold and achieved national prominence. Jack launched his…