• Donnalyn Pompper (Temple University), “A Study of Legal and Public Relations Counselors’ Joint Ethical Decision-Making Processes and Outcomes.”
• Susan Keith (Rutgers University), “Public Relations Ethics Through Journalists Eyes: How the Local Journalism Review Movement Viewed PR: 1958-1975.”
• Emma Daugherty-Phillingane (California State University, Long Beach), “The Ethical Pathways of Successful Entrepreneurial Women in Public Relations: Challenges, Dilemmas, and Modes of Practice.”
• Beth Eschenfelder (University of Tampa), “Enhancing Public Relations Ethics Pedagogy Through Student Professional Narratives.”
• Aine Donovan (Amos Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College), “Recalling Integrity,” a project delving into the timeline and investigating the ethical choices in deciding when to communicate a corporate failure.
• Marcia Distaso (Penn State University), “The State of the Banking Industry: The Difference Between Corporate Communicators and the Public.”
• Ayobami Ojebode (University of Ibadan, Nigeria), “Ethical Dilemma Revisited: The Nigerian Journalist and the Convergence of Power, Business and Media Ownership.”

In the sixth year of the competition, the Page Center received proposals from 17 academic institutions in 12 states and two foreign countries. The researchers represented many academic disciplines.

The deadline for the next round of grant proposals is January 10, 2011, according to Cinda Kostyak, the Center’s associate director.
The Page Center is a research unit of the Penn State College of Communications created in 2004 through a leadership gift by Lawrence G. Foster, a distinguished Penn State alumnus and retired corporate vice president for public relations at Johnson & Johnson.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation also supports the Center through a major grant it awarded in 2006 to establish and endow a research and education program in ethical leadership – including support for the Legacy Scholar program.  The Robert Wood Johnson 1962 Charitable Trust, a private philanthropy of Johnson’s heirs, also has made a significant contribution to support the Center’s work in ethics in public communications and the role of public relations in advancing corporate responsibility.

Arthur W. Page, the longtime vice president for public relations at AT&T, is often regarded as the founder of the modern practice of corporate public relations. He also was a noted educator, publisher and adviser to several U.S. presidents. Page was the first person in a public relations position to serve as an officer and director of a major corporation and, in that capacity, was widely known for management according to the Page Principles, his guidelines for ethical and effective communication with the public and for responsible corporate behavior.

The Center seeks to foster a modern understanding and application of the Page Principles and Robert Wood Johnson’s business philosophy by supporting innovative research, educational or public service projects in a wide variety of academic disciplines and professional fields. For further information on the Center and the Page or Johnson Legacy Scholar Grants, see its website at http://pagecenter.comm.psu.edu// or call (814) 863-6307.

CONTACT: Cinda Kostyak, the Page Center’s associate director, at (814) 863-6307 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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