- 2010 Alexander Hamilton Medal Presented in New York City Ceremony
- Maryland Student Receives Northwestern Mutual Best Master’s Thesis Award
- FedEx Executive Bill Margaritis Presents Annual IPR Distinguished Lecture
The Institute for Public Relations (IPR) awarded its 2010 Alexander Hamilton Award to Margery Kraus, President and Chief Executive Officer of APCO Worldwide, at a ceremony in New York City. The Hamilton Medal – the foundation’s most prestigious honor – was presented to Kraus for her lifetime achievements, distinguished service and contributions to the public relations and public affairs profession.
Since the firm was founded in 1984, APCO (www.apcoworldwide.com) has grown into one of the largest privately-owned communications and public affairs firms in the world with 550 people working in 30 offices globally.
“Margery’s vision and the value of her personal strategic counsel to clients are tremendous,” said Robert W. Grupp, IPR President and CEO. “She routinely and comfortably takes a global view of challenges and opportunities and brings integrity to our profession by maintaining the highest professional standards.”
“Margery also demonstrates that you can have a vibrant professional and personal life while raising a wonderful family, which many of us strive for, but that Margery actually achieves,” Grupp added. “She is a role model in our industry. ”
The 50th IPR Distinguished Lecture was delivered by William G. (Bill) Margaritis, Senior Vice President for Global Communications and Investor Relations at FedEx Corporation. Margaritis spoke about trust as an imperative in building reputation among customers, investors and employees.
The IPR lecturers are leaders in the field of communications and public relations. They distinguish themselves by leading thinking about public relations and its value to business and society. All 50 past lectures can be downloaded at the IPR website (instituteforpr.org).
The award ceremony was on November 11, 2010, at the Yale Club, where IPR also presented awards for scholarship and achievement among academics and students of public relations:
- The IPR 2010 Pathfinder Award was presented to Dr. Maureen Taylor, Gaylord Family Chair of Strategic Communication at the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma. The Pathfinder Award recognizes a scholar in public relations who has made a significant contribution to the body of knowledge and practice of public relations through a program of original research.
- Rowena Briones, a graduate student at the University of Maryland, received the Northwestern Mutual Best Master’s Thesis Award. This is the 30th year that Northwestern Mutual has sponsored the global competition organized by IPR. This award encourages graduate study and scholarship in public relations by recognizing a particularly well-researched and well-written, Master’s thesis. The 2011 winner received a cash grant of $2,000. Her faculty advisory, Dr. Linda Aldoory, Associate Professor in Public Relations at the University of Maryland, received a $1,000 prize. The winning papers are published on the IPR website.
- Rita Linjuan Men, a doctoral candidate at the University of Miami, received the Ketchum Excellence in Public Relations Research Award. The Ketchum award encourages new research methods, especially measuring the effectiveness of public relations activities. Ms. Men participated in an eight-week, paid internship at Ketchum in New York City, and she received a $2,500 study grant. Ketchum has partnered with IPR since 1992 to present this award and to organize the internship.
- Amanda Stageman, a Master’s degree student at Marquette University, won the Grunig PRIME Research Fellowship, named in honor of Drs. James E. Grunig and Larissa A. Grunig. PRIME Research sponsors the Fellowship to encourage graduate student interest in applied public relations research as a career opportunity. The winners receive a stipend and engage in a six-week Fellowship in PRIME Research offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan, or in Oxford in England.
The Grunig PRIME Fellowship and its recipient, Amanda Stageman, recently were chosen as the best public relations internship in the nation in 2010 by the Public Relations Student Society of America. Stageman and PRIME Research received the Altschul Champions for PRSSA Outstanding Internship Award at the PRSSA National Conference in October in Washington DC.
About the Institute
The Institute for Public Relations is an independent non-profit foundation dedicated to the science beneath the art of public relations.™ It bridges the academic and professional fields, supporting public relations research and mainstreaming this knowledge into practice through education. (instituteforpr.org)
