M. Larry Litwin, APR, Fellow PRSA, was born in South Philadelphia, raised in Camden and Pennsauken, New Jersey, lived in rural Iowa for three years, suburban North Jersey for two years and now resides in Berlin, N.J. after living in Cherry Hill, N.J. for 35 years.
Litwin is an established public relations counselor, teacher, mentor, role model and ethicist, and an award-winning public relations practitioner and broadcast journalist, who has left a lasting impression on thousands of students and professionals.
Litwin is an established strategic adviser, teacher, mentor, role model and ethicist,
and an award-winning public relations counselor and broadcast journalist,
who has left a lasting impression on thousands of students and professionals.
He spent 42 years as an adjunct and full-time faculty member at Rowan (N.J.)
University before retiring as associate professor to guest lecture at other universities
in public relations, advertising, radio and television. His classroom is
considered a “laboratory for practical knowledge” where he implements “edutainment”
to motivate his students.
He is a graduate of Parsons (Iowa) College with a bachelor’s degree in business
where, in 2013, he was inducted as a member of its Wall of Honor joining
48 others. He received his master’s in communication – educational public
relations – from Glassboro (N.J.) State College. In 2002, he earned his APR
(Accredited in Public Relations) from the Public Relations Society of America
(PRSA). In 2007, Litwin was inducted into PRSA’s College of Fellows – one of
fewer than 445 members at the time.
During his 51 years in the communication profession, Litwin has worked as a
public relations director for two school districts and as a radio and TV
reporter, editor and anchor for ABC News in New York and KYW in
Philadelphia. He was education reporter at KYW Newsradio for 10 years. He
spent nearly two years in the U.S. Department of Labor as a deputy regional
director of information and public affairs during Elizabeth Dole’s tenure as
labor secretary. He has also served as a strategic counselor, and public relations
and advertising consultant.
Litwin was a governor’s appointee to serve as chair of the New Jersey Open
Public Records Act Privacy Study Commission, which recommended cutting
edge legislation to assure that government records would be available to the
public without exposing personal information – such as home addresses and
telephone numbers – that should remain private and out of the public domain.
He has been secretary of the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association for nearly
45 years, chair of the board of trustees of the South Jersey Baseball Hall of
Fame (SJBHoF) and a member of the Cherry Hill Public Library Board of
Trustees. He served on the Cherry Hill Economic Development Council and as
president of the Township’s Alliance on Drug and Alcohol Abuse. He was a
member of the South Jersey Scholar-Athlete Committee sponsored by the
Courier-Post and Coca-Cola. In 2011, he was inducted into the SJBHoF.
Litwin has authored four books including The ABCs of Strategic Communication –
Thousands of terms, tips and techniques that define the professions
(AuthorHouse – 2014) and The Public Relations Practitioner’s Playbook for
(all) Strategic Communicators – A Synergized Approach to Effective Two-Way
Communication (AuthorHouse – 2013). The PR Playbook’s third edition was
considered for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize. He is a contributor to several college
textbooks and has written many articles for national magazines.
In 2012, Rowan University presented Litwin with its prestigious “Gary Hunter
Excellence in Mentoring Award,” its “Adviser of the Year Leadership Award
for Exemplary Advising” (of a student organization), and named him to the
Rowan University Faculty Wall of Fame and its Adviser Wall of Fame.
He is the 2006 recipient of the National School Public Relations Association’s
Lifetime Professional Achievement Award for “his excellence in the field of
educational public relations, leadership and contributions to NJSPRA (New
Jersey chapter) and PenSPRA (Pennsylvania chapter), dedication to NSPRA
and the (public relations) profession, and advocacy for students and our
nation’s public schools.” He has also been awarded the Sigma Delta Chi
(Society of Professional Journalists) Bronze Medallion for Distinguished
Service in Journalism and the first ever Grand Award presented by the
International Radio Festival of New York.
In 2002, the Philadelphia chapter of PRSA honored Litwin with its Anthony J.
Fulginiti Award for “Outstanding Contributions to Public Relations Education”
– which recognizes a person who excels in education, either through their mentoring/
teaching, their efforts to help shape the careers of future PR professionals
or their contributions to PRSSA (student chapter). Philadelphia PRSA
awarded Rowan University’s PRSSA chapter its Pepperpot for “Excellence in
Public Relations” in 2004 and 2006, the only non-professional organization or
Agency ever to be so honored. Litwin served as chapter adviser. In 2008, he
received National PRSSA’s “Outstanding Faculty Adviser” Award.
Larry and his wife Nancy have two children, Julie and Adam Seth. Julie is a
second grade teacher in Atlanta. She and husband Billy Kramer have a daughter
Alana and son Aidan.
Adam is associate professor of industrial and labor relations (ILR) in the Cornell
University School of ILR after earning his Ph.D. as a Fellow at Sloan School of
Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He and wife Claire
Schwartz Litwin have a daughter Beatrix Grace and son Hugo Pi.