A group of Lynchburg students and faculty recently returned from a 10-day trip to England and Iceland. The trip was led by faculty members Dr. Barbara Rothermel and Dr. Jimmy Roux and focused on public relations practices, cultural heritage, and tourism. While the 10 students received credit for COMM 377, a course in public relations, the study-abroad opportunity attracted a variety of majors, among them communication studies, museum studies, and sports management.
In London, England, the group had a private tour of Parliament. They visited the British Museum, the Tower of London, the Imperial War Museum, and the Tate Modern. They had afternoon tea at Kensington Palace and met with faculty at the University of Reading.
In Reykjavik, Iceland, they saw the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, took a “Walk with a Viking,” toured the National Museum of Iceland, and visited a number of public relations offices. The group also met with public relations professionals in London, with the goal of doing a comparative study between PR agencies in England and Iceland.
As luck would have it, the Lynchburg group arrived in London a couple of days before the recent royal wedding. Asked about that beforehand, Dr. Rothermel, director of Lynchburg’s Daura Gallery, said they’d likely be “sitting somewhere watching it on TV” because “the trains out to Windsor will be a zoo.”
