Dr. Anthony Fauci among 4 honorees to take part in Penn State’s Page Center Awards
A small Penn State research center focused on ethics and public communication is set to honor four icons next week — including Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is set to participate in the virtual event.
The Arthur W. Page Center will honor the quartet during its fifth annual awards ceremony at 7 p.m. Wednesday, recognizing them “for long careers ethically and responsibly communicating with the public.” Tickets to the online event are free, although donations are suggested for both professionals ($50) and professors ($25).
Among the honorees are Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Judy Woodruff, anchor and managing editor of PBS Newshour; Eugene Robinson, Washington Post columnist and editor; and Bill Heyman, CEO of Heyman Associates. The four will each receive the Larry Foster Award for Integrity in Public Communication.
“The breadth and authority of this year’s class of Larry Foster Award honorees is as inspirational as it is impressive,” Bill Nielsen, chair of the Page Center advisory board, said in a written statement. “The best way to promote truth and integrity is to hear from those who showcase those values in everything they do.”
Each honoree will take part in a live Q&A session with a focus on the importance of truth-telling and integrity in their work. The event is slated to last until 8:30 p.m.
The Page Center describes the primary purpose of the event to “celebrate icons of ethics, truth and integrity in public communication.” It is also designed to support research projects by the center, which has funded more than 250 scholars since 2004.
A closer look at the four honorees:
- Anthony Fauci: Time’s “Guardian of the Year” — alongside front-line health workers — has served as the NIAD director since 1984, but he was thrust into the national consciousness last year as the COVID-19 pandemic took shape. The straight-talking New Yorker was widely seen as a trustworthy source during a time of uncertainty and disinformation, and he’s been honored as such. So far this year, he’s already earned the Public Welfare Medal of the National Academy of Sciences in addition to the Dan David Prize, an annual Israeli award that offers three $1 million grants for innovative research. He is also now the chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden.
- Judy Woodruff: The longtime journalist has covered every presidential election and convention since 1976, moderating so many presidential/primary debates that she’s essentially lost count. (Most recently, she was one of the moderators last year for the sixth Democratic debate.) She broke into the industry at a time when it was dominated by men, and she still thrived. Woodruff has worked at NBC, PBS and CNN while picking up plenty of awards along the way — including the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award in Television (2010), Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism from the Poynter Institute (2017) and the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism, with Gwen Ifill (2017).
- Eugene Robinson: A Pulitzer Prize winner in 2009, Robinson has led a storied journalism career. He started writing for the Washington Post in 1980, working his way up to the role of columnist around 2005. His columns are now syndicated by more than 250 newspapers, and he serves as both an associate editor for the Post in addition to acting as a chief political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. He was elected to the Pulitzer Prize board in 2011 and acted as its chair from 2017-2018.
- Bill Heyman: The CEO of Heyman Associates since 1989, Heyman may not be known widely to the general public — but his impact has been indelible. He built one of the premiere executive search firms in the country, while earning distinctions for integrity along the way. He was inducted into PR Week’s Hall of Fame in 2017 and, to this day, he is PR Week’s only three-time PR Power List Supporting Power Player. The Gettysburg College grad has been credited with “setting an industry standard that values integrity, diversity and trust in the field of recruiting communications and marketing leaders,” according to a news release.
Past honorees include Dean Baquet, executive editor of The New York Times; Gwen Ifill, former anchor of PBS Newshour (posthumous); Thomas Kean Sr., former New Jersey governor; Alan Murray, president and CEO of Fortune; Ginger Hardage, former senior VP of culture and communications at Southwest Airlines; and Marilyn Laurie, former executive VP of public relations at AT&T (posthumous).
Located in Penn State’s Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, the Page Center aims to “advance integrity in corporate and public communications.” It was founded by Larry Foster, a Penn State alumnus and public relations expert.
Those interested in attending virtually can find more information on the Page Center’s website.
