NEW YORK – September 7, 2023 — Don W. Stacks, professor emeritus in public relations in the School of Communication at the University of Miami, will receive the Distinguished Service Award during the Page Annual Conference on October 1 in Toronto. The award recognizes leaders who have strengthened the role of corporate communications and public relations in business and society through service to the profession.
“Don is a brilliant researcher and is considered one of the world’s top influencers in communication measurement and evaluation. He has authored over 300 books, chapters in books, published articles, and professional and academic papers and led the team that developed a top-10 internationally-respected PR/Comms Ph.D. degree program at the University of Miami,” said Don Wright, the Harold Burson Professor and Chair in Public Relations at Boston University. “Few have given selflessly of their time and talents to advance and professionalize public relations and corporate communication.”
Stacks retired in 2017, ending an almost 27-year-long career with the University of Miami. His service and dedication to the communication industry did not end there. He founded the International Public Relations Research Conference (IPRRC), a non-profit organization supporting research in public relations and creating impactful relationships and conversations among scholars and professionals in the industry. He also co-founded the Journal of Applied Communication Research, a top communication journal focusing the application of communication research and theory.
“Don has been dedicated to ensuring that the best of academic theory inspires and supports the best in practice for a long time,” said Sandra Macleod, group CEO at Echo Research and co-chair of the Page Honors Committee. “Beyond the number of outstanding practitioners he has helped to develop, perhaps his greatest achievement in selflessly providing service to the profession are his volunteer efforts for 27 years in planning and directing the IPRRC that brings together academics and their scholarly research with those actually practicing PR/Comms.”
Stacks has previously been recognized for the “Provost’s Award for Outstanding Research and Theory” in 1999 by the University of Miami. Additionally, Stacks has also been recognized by the Public Relations Society of America with the “Outstanding Educator Award” which recognizes those who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of public relations education through college or university teaching.
Recent recipients of the Page Distinguished Service Award include Shelley Spector, founder of the Museum of Public Relations; Bob Feldman, founder of The Dialogue Project and Feldman+Partners; Sandra Macleod, CEO, Echo Research; and Jim O’Rourke, professor, management & corporate communication, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame.
For more information or to register (members only) for the Page Annual Conference, please see here.