New York, NY – The Institute for Public Relations (IPR) will award Lynn M. Zoch, Ph.D., professor emerita at Virginia’s Radford University the IPR Pathfinder Award at the 2019 Annual Distinguished Lecture & Awards Dinner on November 19 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City.

IPR gives this lifetime achievement award annually to an individual who has made significant and sustained contributions to the body of knowledge and practice of public relations through published research. Dr. Zoch pioneered work in qualitative and quantitative research studies on gender issues in public relations, as well as gained respect abroad for her recent work on media relations. She has spent the last 20 years focusing on the intersection of theory and research within the practice of public relations, and is currently working to build predictive theories in several of these areas.

In addition, Zoch has recently coauthored a book, to be released in 2020 by Oxford University Press, Strategic Media Relations in the Age of Information: An Evidence-based Approach. She is the author or coauthor of articles published in a number of public relations, corporate communication and mass communication journals, and has contributed chapters to books on framing, public relations theory and women in public relations.

IPR Trustee and The Pathfinder Award selection committee chair Dr. Donald K. Wright, the Harold Burson Professor of Public Relations at Boston University, said the committee selected Dr. Zoch for the significant impact of her research contributions to the profession.

“Dr. Lynn Zoch is highly respected as one of the nation’s leading public relations scholars for many reasons. She was one of the first public relations professors to conduct quantitative and qualitative studies on gender issues and her more recent work on media relations is respected in North America and overseas,” said Wright. “Professor Zoch also is widely known for nurturing and developing several PR Ph.D students who have gone on to the highest of leadership positions in public relations education.”

She has master’s and doctoral degrees from Syracuse University in public relations management and public communication, respectively. Before moving to Radford, Zoch taught at the University of Miami and the University of South Carolina, where she was director of the master’s degree program and sequence head for the advertising and public relations programs. She has six years of professional experience in educational and nonprofit public relations and has continued her connection to the field through consulting work with local and state organizations.

Over her career, Zoch has been active in both academic and profession organizations. As a member of the public relations division of Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication she served twice as research chair and in the International Communication Association, she served as chair the year the Interest Group became a division. She is a site reviewer for PRSA’s academic certification program (CEPR). For the past 15 years, Zoch has also been an advisory committee member for the International Public Relations Research Conference, and serves or has served on the editorial boards of Public Relations Review, Journal of Public Relations Research, and Public Relations Journal.

Tickets to IPR Distinguished Lecture & Awards Dinner

Tickets for the IPR Distinguished Lecture & Awards Dinner are available for $500 each. Tables of 10 can be purchased for $5,000 and premium tables of 10 are available for $10,000. The price includes a networking cocktail reception (sponsored by the UF College of Journalism and Communications), the awards dinner, and Distinguished Lecture by Mark Leibovich of the New York Times Magazine.

Dr. Lynn M. Zoch is professor emerita at Virginia’s Radford University where she was the founding Director of the School of Communications. She has master’s and doctoral degrees from Syracuse University in public relations management and public communication, respectively. Before moving to RU, Zoch taught at the University of Miami and the University of South Carolina, where she was director of the master’s degree program and sequence head for the advertising and public relations programs. She has six years of professional experience in educational and nonprofit public relations and has continued her connection to the field through consulting work with local and state organizations.

Zoch has recently coauthored a book, to be released in 2020 by Oxford University Press, titled Strategic Media Relations in the Age of Information: An Evidence-based Approach. She is the author or coauthor of articles published in a number of public relations, corporate communication and mass communication journals, and has contributed chapters to books on framing, public relations theory and women in public relations.

Over her career, Zoch has been active in both academic and profession organizations. As a member of the public relations division of Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication she served twice as research chair; in International Communication Association she served as chair the year the Interest Group became a division; she is currently serving as a site reviewer for PRSA’s academic certification program (CEPR). Zoch has also been a member of the advisory committee for the International Public Relations Research Conference for more than 15 years, and serves or served on the editorial boards of Public Relations Review, Journal of Public Relations Research, and Public Relations Journal.

About the Institute for Public Relations

The Institute for Public Relations is an independent, nonprofit research foundation dedicated to fostering greater use of research and research-based knowledge in corporate communication and the public relations practice. IPR is dedicated to the science beneath the art of public relations™. IPR provides timely insights and applied intelligence that professionals can put to immediate use. All research, including a weekly research letter, is available for free at instituteforpr.org.

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