On the Cover

Features

An intimate connection

Love, CMU style

Departments

Letters

Take Five
Jeff Daniels visit
Jesse Jackson visit
Brain research
CMU volunteers
Real estate

Discovery
Driving distractions
How seals relate

Sports
A championship year
Jones named new coach

In support
Education building
Faculty learning
Opus gala

Maroon and Gold

Alumni in Action

I Am CMU

With Jeff Caponigro, it’s personal.

He takes his commitment to his alma mater seriously – as the newly elected chairman of the CMU Board of Trustees, a donor funding a full-ride scholarship and a summer student workshop, a successful alumnus, and a CMU parent.

Caponigro, ’79, president and CEO of Caponigro Public Relations of Southfield, says it’s important for him to devote time and money to his alma mater.

“I’m so grateful for what I have, and
I want to be able to give back,” he says.

On board
Caponigro, elected trustees chairman in December, helps CMU move forward in a number of areas, including reputation and branding.

“There’s no question that public relations is a particular interest of his because it’s such a strong skill of his,” says CMU President Michael Rao. “He is right on top of every aspect of communication.

“What he wants to see CMU become is what it’s due to become – a prominent national organization that is recognized for engaging students,” Rao says. “He recognizes that at CMU your chances of being involved are much greater than they would be someplace else. And he believes that our faculty, people who are at the top of their game, make a big difference in the lives of our students.

“I just know that in everything he does, he sincerely supports the university. He listens well, he absorbs the information, and he comes back with very good advice.”

For years Caponigro has served as chairman of the board’s trustee-student liaison committee, a role he has treasured for its interaction with students.

“These students are not only going to school, but they have the initiative to be involved,” he says. “I really have a lot of respect for them.”

Dan Nowiski, president of the Student Government Association and member of the trustee-student liaison committee, says Caponigro has been especially good at listening to students and asking their opinions.

“He’s easy going, open and forthright, and a good communicator,” Nowiski says. “He always tries to make sure we hear different viewpoints so everyone is understood.”

Personal support
“Not only is Jeff an outstanding businessman and a recognized leader in his profession, he has a keen understanding of academe and of CMU in particular,” says Michael Leto, vice president of development and alumni relations at CMU. “This combination is not always easy to accomplish, and I am sure that part of his success is due to his ability to listen, ask questions, anticipate needs, and find solutions. For example, Jeff was an early leadership donor to our successful New Vision of Excellence campaign, and he quickly focused on three priority areas: scholarships, diversity, and endowment.”

Caponigro’s summer student workshop involves high school students interested in pursuing journalism careers. The summer workshop and Caponigro’s full-ride annual scholarship for a journalism or public relations student both are endowed programs that provide permanent annual funding.

“One measure of success for a university is through the achievements of its graduates,” Leto says. “Our reputation is certainly enhanced through Jeff’s many accomplishments.”

Caponigro makes a personal connection with the students he benefits. At commencement in December, he personally handed a CMU diploma to Brandon Veale, the student who received Caponigro’s scholarship for the last four years.

“Brandon took advantage of the opportunity and made the most of it,” Caponigro says. “He will be successful in whatever he pursues in his career.”
Veale, a journalism major who graduated with honors, routinely checked in with his benefactor, who always asked about his studies.

“I’m honored that he has had such an interest in my progress,” Veale says.

At the office
After studying journalism and English at CMU, Caponigro jumped into a career in advertising, marketing, and public relations.

He was a vice president at age 25 at Detroit’s Anthony M. Franco Inc. After four years there, he joined a three-person public relations firm and helped Southfield-based Casey Communications Management Inc. grow to become the largest public relations firm in Michigan at the time. He worked there for 11 years – the last seven as its president and CEO.

In 1995 he founded Caponigro Public Relations, located on the 17th floor of a shiny, mirrored office building in Southfield. The company specializes in strategic public relations, media relations, crisis management, community relations, government relations and lobbying, and speaker and media training.

Most days Caponigro meets with potential clients and handles current accounts. The company’s clients include Fortune 500 companies and national organizations as well as small to midsize companies and organizations.

Caponigro is considered one of the nation’s top experts in crisis communications. He wrote The Crisis Counselor: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing a Business Crisis, which is published in English, Chinese, Danish, Norwegian, and Polish. The book, named by PR Week magazine as one of the “Ten Best PR Books,” is sold around the globe.

“I get e-mail notes from people all over the world,” he says. “I purposely put my address in the book so people could contact me and I could somewhat track the book’s geographic reach.”

Caponigro Public Relations has distinguished itself from the competition by earning ISO 9000 quality management certification, which ensures efficient and effective business practices. Standards are maintained by the International Organization for Standardization and administered by accreditation and certification bodies.

Caponigro says he and his employees pride themselves on focusing on quality. And while many companies claim a quality focus, the ISO 9000 certification is a tangible way that Caponigro Public Relations has proven the claim.

The New York-based Holmes Report has named the company one of the nation’s five best crisis and issues management firms and public affairs firms and awarded it the nation’s top honor for client service.

In 2001, Caponigro was inducted into the Public Relations Society of America’s prestigious College of Fellows. In 1988, he received the organization’s highest award, the Silver Anvil, for a public affairs program to encourage passage of safety-belt use laws in 48 states. PR Week named that effort one of the “20 Greatest PR Campaigns Ever.”

John Bailey, president of John Bailey and Associates public relations firm in Troy, has known Caponigro for about 20 years as a colleague and public relations peer in southeast Michigan.

“Jeff is a tremendous public relations practitioner and businessman,” Bailey says. “He is impeccable in his thought process and work ethic. I expect him to be a major player in the public relations industry for many years to come.”

Caponigro approaches his personal life with the same vigor and enthusiasm that guides his professional life.

A dedicated fitness buff, Caponigro is up by 3:45 a.m. three days a week to weight train with a personal trainer. He is a well-rounded athlete who is an avid golfer (currently a 10 handicap) and also has become a long-distance runner in recent years. He and his wife, Stephanie, ran in the 10-mile Crim race in Flint last year, along with several 10K and 12K events. They run early on the days when he isn’t weight training – typically leaving Sunday as his lone day of rest.

Caponigro, known for diligence and hard work, also wrote On Your Own: Advice for Young Adults Leaving Home for the First Time, when his sons were preparing for college.

One bit of the book’s fatherly advice that helps define Caponigro: “Work harder than the average performer thinks is necessary.” •