The Institute for Public Relations announced today the election of a new Class of Trustees as well as officers of the Board for 2010. The Institute also announced new members of its Commission on Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation and the election of a respected academic as Institute Research Fellow.
Michael A. Fernandez, Vice President of Public Affairs, State Farm Insurance, and Matthew P. Gonring, Consultant, Gagen MacDonald, were re-elected co-chairs of the Institutes Board of Trustees. Kenneth D. Makovsky, President, Makovsky and Company, was re-elected Treasurer, and Robert W. Grupp was re-elected Institute President and CEO. Institute officers serve one-year terms beginning January 1, 2010.
The Institute for Public Relations is an independent non-profit foundation headquartered at the University of Florida. It bridges the academic and professional fields, supporting public relations research and mainstreaming this knowledge into practice.
“Trustees are chosen for their leadership, for their insight and positive impact on public relations education and practice,” said Matthew Gonring, Board co-chair. “Our trustees are an extraordinary strategic asset as we build, document and mainstream the intellectual foundations of our profession.”
New Trustees elected to three-year terms are: Paul Argenti, Ph.D., Professor of Corporate Communications, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College; Chris Atkins, Vice President, Communications, Standard & Poors; Kathryn Beiser, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Discover Financial Services; Bruce Berger, Ph.D., Professor and Chairman of the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, University of Alabama; Angela Buonocore, Senior Vice President, Communications, ITT Corporation; Julie H. Craven, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Hormel Foods; and Katie Spring, Managing Director and Head of Corporate Communications, Citadel Investment Group.
Trustees re-elected to three-year terms are: Matthew Anderson, Group Director, Europe and Asia, News Corporation; Tony Cervone, Senior Vice President, Communications, United Airlines; Matt Gonring; Gary Grates, President and Global Managing Director, Edelman Change; Robert Grupp; Bill Heyman, President and CEO, Heyman Associates; Tom Mattia, Chief Communications Officer, Yale University; Ernst Primosch, Consultant, Germany; Mary Lee Sachs, Chairman, Hill & Knowlton USA; Maril MacDonald, CEO, Gagen MacDonald; Kirk Stewart Executive Vice President, APCO Worldwide; and Arthur E. F. Wiese, Jr., Vice President, Corporate Communications, Entergy.
Michael Fernandez, Board co-chair, added: “Our Board is an impressive team of top minds from business and academia who are dedicated to the advancement and conscientious undertaking of public relations. These people have long concerned themselves with the science beneath the art of our profession.”
A complete list of Institute Trustees can be found at https://instituteforpr.org/about/trustees.
Measurement Commission
The Institute Commission on Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation has retained its chair and elected four new members.
The Commission re-elected Pauline Draper-Watts as 2010 chair. New Commission members include Rebecca Harris, Senior Communications Manager, General Motors; Tim Marklein, Executive Vice President of Measurement and Strategy, Weber Shandwick; Mark Phillips, Vice President, Communications, USO; and Frank J Walton, Ph.D., President, RF|Binder Partners. Commission terms begin January 1, 2010.
A complete list of Commission members can be found on the Institute website at https://instituteforpr.org/about/measurement_commission_members.
The Institute’s Measurement Commission was created in 1997 to improve the performance of public relations by promoting, providing, and encouraging ethical and excellent practices of research, measurement and evaluation. Commission membership consists of more than two dozen research thought leaders with representation from corporations and non-profits, public relations firms, research providers and academics. Measurement Commission members have produced books and dozens of articles about public relations measurement and evaluation. Several of them are regular speakers at seminars and conferences, advocating for research and evaluation and demonstrating its effectiveness.
Commission papers are available free on the Institute’s website (instituteforpr.org). The Institute Speakers Bureau (https://instituteforpr.org/education/speakers_bureau) links many Commission members and Trustees who are available for presentations.
Institute Research Fellows
The Board of Trustees also elected David M. Dozier, Ph.D., as an Institute Research Fellow.Professor Dozier is a scholar of public relations and communication management and a member of the faculty of the School of Communication at San Diego State University. Among many accomplishments, he co-authored – with Larissa and James Grunig – the Manager’s Guide to Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management.
The Board established the Institute Research Fellows to provide overall leadership for the Institute research program. The criteria for selection include international research reputations in either academia or practice, and a commitment to work with the Institute to identify and address broad research needs in the public relations field.
About the Institute for Public Relations
More information about the Institute and its library of research can be found at instituteforpr.org.
