UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A Chicago-based public relations veteran is scheduled to present a free public lecture titled “The PR Landscape and Your Moral Compass: Mapping a Path to Success.”
Ron Culp will give the Ben Bronstein Lecture in Public Relations Ethics at 6 p.m. March 27 in the Nittany Lion Inn Assembly Room at University Park.
Culp, an independent public relations consultant, is currently a professional in residence at DePaul University, where he serves as an instructor and professional director of the graduate program in public relations and advertising. Prior to joining DePaul, he served as partner and managing director of Ketchum Chicago, a global public relations agency.
Culp previously held the title of senior vice president of public relations and government affairs at Sears. Earlier in his career, he held senior corporate communications roles for Pitney Bowes, Sara Lee and Eli Lilly. Culp also runs a blog, which focuses on all things related to public relations (culpwrit.com) and is a recipient of the Public Relations Society of America’s Gold Anvil award, as well as the Arthur W. Page Society’s Hall of Fame and Distinguished Service awards. Culp has a bachelor’s degree from Indiana State University, beginning his career as a newspaper reporter following graduation.
The Ben Bronstein Lecture in Ethics and Public Relations, coordinated by the Don Davis Program in Ethical Leadership, housed in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, was created by Bronstein, who earned his Penn State journalism degree 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.
Bronstein was the founding director of public relations at the Penn State College of Medicine and the Milton S. Hershey Hershey Medical Center, and he held director positions in public relations at two statewide health care associations.
The mission of the Davis Program is to promote professional, academic and personal integrity within the Bellisario College community. The program has a special focus on the development of responsibility and integrity among undergraduates as part of their preparation to be principled leaders of media institutions.