Winners to Receive “Jack Koten Page Principles Case Study Award” at the Page Society’s Annual Spring Seminar
NEW YORK – April 6, 2016 — Three DePaul University students will be awarded the Jack Koten Page Principles Case Study Award for their winning submission on Starbucks’ efforts to create positive social impact by facilitating a national conversation on race. This is the second year in a row that students from DePaul have taken top honors under academic advisor and university associate professor of public relations, Dr. Matt Ragas, who is also a member of Page Up.
The Case Study Competition in Corporate Communications, which is sponsored by the Arthur W. Page Society and the Institute for Public Relations (IPR), awards students whose original case studies best examine the practice of corporate communications in a business issue or crisis. This year’s competition drew 106 entries, more than triple that of any past year since the competition was begun in 2001.
This year’s winning case study, “Starbucks; The Third Place on a Third Rail Issue: An Analysis of Starbucks’ Race Together Initiative,” was authored by Megan Cauley, Chelsea Michael and Lizmarie Orengo, all students at DePaul University’s College of Communication in Chicago where they are pursuing a Master’s in Public Relations and Advertising. Their study explores Starbucks’ efforts to address racial tension by using its resources and scale to bring about social change through open dialogue.
The Koten Award is the grand prize in this competition, renamed last year in honor of inaugural Page Society chairman John A. “Jack” Koten, whose estate sponsors the $5,000 grand prize. The grand prize winners will be recognized at the Page Society’s Spring Seminar on April 7th in New York City. There are also awards given to top finishers in the business schools and communications schools categories. To see all winning submissions, please visit: http://www.awpagesociety.com/study_competitions.
“This competition engages students to think critically about real-world communications issues, and I can say that even though it is meant as a learning opportunity for the students, I always learn something from their work,” said Dr. Tina McCorkindale, president and chief executive officer of IPR. “Congratulations to Megan, Chelsea and Lizmarie, three bright stars in the future of public relations.”
This annual competition is judged by a panel composed of Page Society members, members of Page Up – a recently established organization for senior-level communicators who have the potential to rise to a CCO or another Page Society eligible role – and other senior communications leaders. The judges in this year’s competition were:
James E. Arnold, Arnold Consulting Group
Nick Ashooh, APCO Worldwide
Lori Bergen, University of Colorado
Chris Bona, Ryerson
Melissa Brotz, Abbott
Marcia DiStaso, Penn State University
Wendy Dougherty, Medtronic
Jarrod Erpelding, Dow Corning
Tracy Faulkner, Shell Oil Company
Kathleen Kelly, University of Florida
Rich Kylberg, Arrow Electronics
Michael Maslansky, Maslansky + Partners
Tom Mattia, The Coca-Cola Company (retired)
Tina McCorkindale, Institute for Public Relations
James Rubin, Darden Graduate School of Business, University of Virginia
Gary Sheffer, General Electric
Krishnamurthy Sriramesh, Purdue University
Nur Uysal, Marquette University
Ward White, Edelman
Dennis Wilcox, San Jose State University
The Jack Koten Page Principles Case Study Award
As the first chairman of the Arthur W. Page Society, Jack Koten was among the founding members of the Society who extracted from Page’s lifetime of work the set of defining values that we know today as the Page Principles. These Principles not only serve as criteria for this competition but also as a guide for how Page members should approach their role within the Society. Jack personified the belief that businesses should operate honestly and honorably, and with unwavering integrity.
Upon his passing in 2014, Jack bequeathed funds to the Page Society that its Board of Trustees voted to use to fund in perpetuity the annual Case Study Competition grand prize, which we last year renamed the Jack Koten Page Principles Case Study Award.
About the Arthur W. Page Society
The Arthur W. Page Society is a professional association for senior public relations and corporate communications executives who seek to enrich and strengthen their profession. Membership consists primarily of chief communications officers (CCOs) of Fortune 500 corporations, the CEOs of the world’s largest public relations agencies, and leading academics from top business and communications schools. With 649 members in 21 countries, the Page Society enables members to develop professional relationships with the most knowledgeable, influential and innovative global leaders in enterprise communications. Members also participate in producing thought leadership that is shaping the understanding of the value and role of corporate communications, and are able to take advantage of professional development opportunities for their staff. The Page Society is dedicated to strengthening the enterprise leadership role of the CCO. For more information please visit www.awpagesociety.com.
Contact:
Karla Herrera, Edelman at karla.herrera@edelman.com
Sarah Jackson at sarah@instituteforpr.org
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