The Arthur W. Page Center has named a legendary journalist, a public relations icon and a long-time leader in business as honorees for its second annual Awards for Integrity in Public Communication. The honorees will be recognized at a special fundraising dinner in New York City.
The Page Center is honoring Bill George, senior fellow at Harvard Business School and former CEO of Medtronic; John Onoda, consultant for Gagen MacDonald; and posthumously honoring PBS NewsHour host Gwen Ifill. The dinner will begin at 6 p.m. on Feb. 21, 2018 at the Grand Hyatt – Midtown Manhattan Hotel in New York City.
“It’s our goal to advance ethics in as many areas of public communications as possible, from the news outlets to the corporations to the non-profits,” said Denise Bortree, Center director and associate professor of public relations/advertising. “Our awards showcase professionals who established their integrity through challenging times and over long careers. We hope their good work will help us promote ethical decision-making in our field today and in the future.”
Each honoree will be presented with a Larry Foster Award for Integrity in Public Communication. Foster was a renowned communicator during his time as both a journalist and public relations practitioner. He founded the Page Center in 2004 with fellow public relations leaders Jack Koten and Ed Block. The Page Center is a research center in the Bellisario College of Communications at the Pennsylvania State University, Foster’s alma mater.
“We continue to honor Larry by highlighting those who shared and share his vision,” said Bill Nielsen, Center advisory board chair. “Larry believed it was our job as communicators to fully inform the public truthfully and accurately. Gwen, John and Bill are shining examples of that mission.”
Funds raised from the event support innovative research by Page Center scholars who represent universities all over the world. The Center’s research projects aim to build the scholarly and public understanding of ethics in communications. To date, the Center has funded more than 200 scholars and awarded more than $750,000 in research funding. Areas of focus include corporate social responsibility, digital ethics, sustainability communication, fake news and more. Other Center initiatives focus on educational opportunities like an annual speaker series, oral history archiving and online educational modules.
Event information is available on the awards webpage at: http://awards.thepagecenter.org.