Public relations experts who deal with crisis and news-making situations every day will address “Integrity in Times of Crisis” during a free public session at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 25, in the HUB-Robeson Center Auditorium on the University Park campus of Penn State.

Ongoing events at Penn State will be part of the session, which addresses the role of a public relations professional when a tsunami of trouble hits an organization. The panel discussion serves as the annual Ben Bronstein Lecture in Ethics and Public Relations, sponsored by the Don Davis Program in Ethical Leadership, which is housed in the College of Communications at Penn State.

Panelists for the program are: James E. Lukaszewski, president of The Lukaszewski Group, a Division of Risdall Public Relations, a well-respected firm with abundant experience in crisis communications; Genaro Armas, who has covered breaking and ongoing national news stories for The Associated Press; and Steve Manuel, a senior lecturer in the Department of Public Relations at Penn State who previously served as a public affairs officer for the Office of the Secretary of Defense and as a Marine Corps spokesman.

Lukaszewski is an internationally recognized consultant on crisis management, ethics, media relations, public affairs and reputation preservation and restoration. His name was listed in Corporate Legal Times as one of 28 Experts to Call When All Hell Breaks Loose and in PR Week as one of 22 “crunch-time counselors who should be on the speed dial in a crisis.” Trust Across America named Lukaszewski to its 2013 list of the Top 100 Global Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior for his approach to crisis communications. The Lukaszewski Group was founded in 1990. Lukaszewski earned his bachelor’s degree in 1974 from Metropolitan State University in Minnesota.

As an Associated Press correspondent, Armas has regularly covered stories with a national impact. Based in State College, Pa., he regularly focuses on central Pennsylvania and Penn State, which has been the source of much national interest in the past 11 months. He previously worked for the AP in Washington, D.C.

Since his retirement from the Marines, Manuel has taught public relations and photography at Penn State. In addition, he has won numerous photographic and writing awards. His photographs have been published in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sports Illustrated, USA Today and many other publications.

The Ben Bronstein Lecture in Ethics and Public Relations is presented by the Don Davis Program in Ethical Leadership and the College of Communications. Alumnus Bronstein earned his degree in journalism in 1961 and has been a longtime supporter of the University. He endowed the lecture in order to support ethics-related events as part of the core mission of the College of Communications.

Bronstein was the founding director of public relations at the Penn State College of Medicine and Hershey Medical Center and held director positions in public relations at two statewide health care associations.

The mission of the Don Davis Program in Ethical Leadership is to promote professional, academic and personal integrity within the community of the College of Communications. The program has a special focus on the development of responsibility and integrity among undergraduates in the college as part of their preparation to be the principled leaders of tomorrow’s media institutions.