O'Rourke has served as head of public relations at the Institute since 1986, most recently as associate vice president for institute relations, a title he held since 1996.
He has had 28 years of experience in the nonprofit public relations field, beginning with the West Allis Memorial Hospital and University of Wisconsin Center for Health Sciences in Wisconsin, the Medical College of Pennsylvania, and later as press secretary to the president at Boston University.
As vice president, O'Rourke is in charge of electronic media publications, government and community relations, media relations, periodicals, publications, public events, and the visitor's center.
He has successfully strengthened the connection between Caltech and the Southern California community by establishing programs that involve Caltech in community activities and that bring the public to campus. He created the Caltech visitor's center, a monthly talk show on KPCC radio, and the DuBridge Distinguished Lecture Series that has brought to campus such notables as Walter Cronkite and Warren Buffett in the past, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient John Hume this November. O'Rourke has increased awareness of public events programming at Caltech, established the Institute's first department for web publishing, and introduced the work of Caltech researchers to the external community with such programs as the annual Biology Forum.
Caltech President David Baltimore made the announcement to the campus October 1. "Since before I had even arrived at Caltech, Bob has been an advisor to me on all questions about public relations. He has been thoughtful in his approach to handling complicated issues and has gone out of his way to make friends for Caltech. It is clear that he loves the place and is able to send its message widely and effectively. Promoting him to vice president will give him greater visibility and authority as Caltech moves forward," he said.
O'Rourke has served in numerous community organizations, including the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, the Pasadena World Cup Strategic Planning Committee, Pasadena Forward, Los Angeles World Affairs Council, and Breakfast Forum. In 1987 he was one of the founders of the Pasadena Pops Orchestra.
He is a member of the Public Relations Society of America and received a Special Project Award for development of a media lead sheet. The departments he oversees have received multiple awards during his tenure, including nearly 20 medals from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education for publications, periodicals, media relations, and the radio talk show.
CONTACT: Jill Perry, Media Relations Director (626) 395-3226 [email protected]
Visit the Caltech media relations web site: http://pr.caltech.edu/media
