Walter William Seifert, 87, one of the founders of The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) and former Ohio State professor, died Dec. 2 after devoting his life to developing the field of public relations and also the minds of his students.Seifert graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and later earned his master’s degree in journalism at the University of Michigan. He served his country in World War II, worked as a journalist, had several jobs in public relations and was a professor at OSU for 25 years. He retired in 1984.Seifert left a permanent mark in the world of public relations. He was among the members of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) who founded PRSSA in 1968. The organization now has 5,000 members in 225 campus chapters, including the one here at OSU, which is named after Seifert himself. He also founded the educator`s section of PRSSA.Seifert has been recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records for publishing over 4,600 letters to the editor, was named Outstanding Public Relations Educator in 1972 and was awarded five George Washington Honor medals from the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge, Pa.Yet, among all of his recognized accomplishments, his former students and colleagues remember him most for his devotion to helping people.”Of any professor I ever had at OSU, Seifert represented all of the best things that you would ever hope for in a professor,” said Lee Tashjian, vice president of University Relations at OSU and former teaching assistant for Seifert. “I was trying to figure out where my life was going, and he, without a doubt, inspired me to commit myself to public relations.”John Clark, journalism professor emeritus and Lantern advisor with Seifert for nearly two decades remembers well how Seifert related to his pupils.”He was practically idolized by his students,” Clark said.