“It used to be that communications were just nice to have, but it needs to be a part of [an organization's] results. I hope by the U.N.’s 100th birthday, its brand will be settled. People will know the blue helmet as a sign of safety, the blue tents as a sign of shelter and safe haven — all positive images.”
-- Jennifer Stapper is the communications chief for the United Nations Volunteers, an organization that contributes to the aspirations of the U.N. through organized groups of qualified volunteers all over the world. She spoke to about 150 students in the Freeman Auditorium on Feb. 3 as a part of the Arthur W. Page Professional-in-Residence speaker series. In 2015, the U.N. celebrated its 70th year since forming as an organization after World War II. Stapper spoke about the challenges the U.N. faces as a global organization and shared her vision to take the attention away from catastrophe and disaster, and focus on the positive, supportive aspects of the organization.
The Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication is a research center within the Penn State College of Communications dedicated to the study and advancement of ethics and responsibility in corporate and other forms of communication.
The center’s Professional-in-Residence series invites top communicators to the University Park campus to speak. In addition to a keynote lecture, the professionals spend several days on campus visiting communications classrooms, meeting faculty and student groups, and networking with others.