James E. Grunig, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Communication at the University of Maryland is being honored as this year's Arthur W. Page Society's Distinguished Service Award winner. Widely recognized as one of the industry's leading scholars, Dr. Grunig is being honored for his contributions to the public relations profession for more than 30 years.

Dr. Grunig has published more than 200 articles, books, book chapters, reports and papers and is editor of the PRIDE award-winning book, Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management. He is well known for developing theories that track the growth and development of public relations from the field's press-agentry and publicity era that focused only on one-way communication to the reality of how much of the field is practiced today with an emphasis on relationship building and two-way communication. For more than two decades, Dr. Grunig has been a strong advocate for public relations and corporate communications becoming part of an organization's decision making dominant coalition.

"Dr. Grunig has revolutionized the communications industry," said Maril MacDonald, president of the Arthur W. Page Society. "His influence has been felt across the public relations field both in the United States and around the world. It is an honor to recognize an individual whose theories are heralded as pointing the way to best practices in our daily work."

As an active member of the public relations community, Professor Grunig has shared his expertise with the Arthur W. Page Society, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the Institute for Public Relations, the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), the International Communication Association (ICA), and the National Communication Association (NCA).

The Arthur W. Page Society will present James E. Grunig, Ph. D. with the Distinguished Service Award during the 25th Annual Arthur W. Page Society's Conference in Chatham, MA from September 21-23. The annual award recognizes an individual who has helped strengthen the role of public relations in our society by improving its overall value and effectiveness.

About the Distinguished Service Award

The Distinguished Service Award was created to honor an individual, who over the years has helped strengthen the role of public relations. Successful candidates have served the profession by improving its overall value and effectiveness. The recipients of this award helped strengthen the role of public relations in our society by devoting themselves to services that help build and nurture the profession. Winners may have championed the merits of public relations; written articles and/or books; conducted opinion research; developed educational programs; and worked with students, professional groups and community groups.

About the Arthur W. Page Society

The Arthur W. Page Society is a professional association composed primarily of the chief communications officers (CCOs) of the world's top multinational corporations, and the CEOs of the world's largest public relations agencies. The organization's members also include academics from the leading business and communications schools. The Page Society is dedicated to strengthening the management policy role of chief communications officers. The Page Society is upheld by management concepts, known as the Page Principles, which have been tested for more than half a century and have earned the support and respect of chief executive officers throughout the country. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Arthur W. Page Society.

For more information on the Arthur W. Page Society, please visit http://www.awpagesociety.com.

To download a printable version of this speech, click here.

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For more information contact:

Patricia Pincus
202.530.4539