Chapman to reflect on public relations career in UW-Madison lecture

Dave Chapman left the Midwest in 1988, heading to California to direct the west coast offices of a couple of the world’s leading communication agencies.

But the Wauwatosa native and UW–Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication graduate took with him a Wisconsin sensibility and experience.

Stepping out of his comfort zone and leaving Chicago for Los Angeles and, later, San Francisco is one of the many lasting career and life lessons Chapman will share in a talk he’s calling “From the Kollege Klub to the Fog City Diner.”

In his lecture, Chapman will draw on what he’s learned in his 35-year career in public relations, including the importance of finding — and being — a mentor, and staying true to your values.

“I’ve worked on everything from gasoline companies to becoming the sustainability lead for the Ketchum global network,” Chapman says. “There are compromises, but you can still be a values-driven person and work in corporate public relations.”

Chapman’s lecture is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11, in the Ralph O. Nafziger Room, 5055 Vilas Communication Hall, 821 University Ave., on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus.

His talk is supported by the Robert and Judith Taylor Journalism Fund and is sponsored by the school.

Each year, the Taylor fund invites a communications professional to UW–Madison to deliver a free, public lecture honoring Robert Taylor, a journalism professor and university official who died in 2002.

As head of the San Francisco and Los Angeles offices of Ketchum West, Chapman leads the development of sustainability programs and strategic positioning and communication plans for such clients as Procter & Gamble, Häagen-Dazs, Sun Chips and Walmart.

Before joining Ketchum, Chapman spent 24 years at Burson-Marsteller, developing marketing and corporate communications programs for some of the nation’s largest companies.