The Penn State chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) was honored with an award for its Web site during the organization's recently concluded national conference in Detroit.
The Lawrence G. Foster Penn State Chapter of PRSSA, whose site may be found at www.clubs.psu.edu/up/prssa/, was recognized with an award that evaluates the creativity, design, content and overall apperance of a Web site.
Penn State’s chapter, formed in September 1997 and officially chartered in March 1998, started with 35 members and has since grown to 210 members, making it the largest student-run organization in the College of Communications.
The chapter was named in honor of Larry Foster, a Penn State alumnus professional adviser to the chapter, who was named by PRWeek as one of the top five public relations professionals of the 20th century. For 33 years, Foster served as vice president of public relations for Johnson & Johnson in New Brunswick, N.J. He’s renowned for his pioneering crisis management efforts in regard to the 1986 Tylenol crisis.
PRSSA was founded in 1968 as an offshoot of the Public Relations Society of America, the world’s largest public relations professional organization.
The purpose was to cultivate a mutually advantageous relationship between public relations students and professional public relations practitioners. It further aims to foster a student's understanding of modern theories and procedures, to instill in them a professional attitude, and to encourage them to adhere to the highest ideals of the practice of public relations.