Geoff Colvin, Fortune Magazine
 
Geoff Colvin, Senior Editor-at-Large of Fortune Magazine, delivered IPR's Distinguished Lecture,  commemorating 60 years of research that matters to the practice. In Colvin's presentation "Lessons for Communicators in an Unpredictable World," he explains how communicators can still make an impact through face-to-face interactions and storytelling in a world overrun with technology.

Colvin is an award-winning thinker, author, broadcaster, and speaker on the most significant trends and issues impacting business and the economy. He has an insider's perspective fueled by long-standing relationships with the world's top leaders in business and government. Read more.
Fred Cook, USC Center for Public Relations & CEO, Golin

As the PR profession is becoming more complex, more demanding and more strategic, practitioners must act boldly, think more creatively and compete more aggressively. If we step up to the plate, we will play an increasingly important role within our organizations. If we don't change as fast or faster than everything around us, we will no longer be relevant.

On December 1st, Fred Cook gathered a group of public relations visionaries for a panel discussion at Wallis Annenberg Hall about the single greatest threat facing our profession: irrelevance. The basis for the discussion was the newly released Relevance Report, a compilation of ideas about what will be relevant to communicators in 2017. Read more.
Rita Men, Ph.D., University of Florida and Hua Jiang, Ph.D., Syracuse University

Positive employee-organization relationships (EOR) are an important intangible asset for organizations, which influences external stakeholders' perception and drives business performance. Considering the value of EOR in ensuring organizational success, leaders need to recognize the importance of developing authentic leadership.

Strong leadership is characterized by organization leaders' self-awareness, transparent communication with followers, objective and unbiased information processing and decision-making and internalized moral values. Good leaders should demonstrate genuine concern for employees' needs and well being, as part of the organizational culture and structure. Read more.

The Arthur W. Page Society, in alliance with IPR, is conducting their annual competition to find research that contributes to the profession's body of knowledge and provides practical suggestions on how to improve the corporate public relations function.

Case studies will be accepted by students at accredited schools of business, communications or journalism that focus on corporate communications and the practice of public relations. Deadline for submissions is January 11, 2017. Read more. 
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