Page-Sponsored Researchers to Speak on Corporate Social Responsibility at ICA Meeting in Seattle

April 17, 2014

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) research projects supported by the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication will take center stage from 1-5 p.m., May 22 in Seattle at a pre-conference session of the International Communications Association annual meeting.

“The research presentations will address a broad spectrum of CSR work, including environmental sustainability, social responsibility, nonprofit-corporation partnerships, employee diversity, and measurement of CSR impacts,” says Dr. Denise Bortree, senior research fellow in the Page Center, a research unit of Penn State University’s College of Communications.

“Following a panel of prominent scholars discussing recent CSR research, local practitioners will share their experiences with practical application of CSR in the field,” says Dr. Bortree, who is coordinating the pre-conference session.

Seven scholars whose CSR-related research was funded last year by the Page Center will present perspectives on their work. They include:

• Richard D. Waters of the University of San Francisco who will discuss an experiment to measure the effectiveness of communication of CSR efforts among non-profits.
• Kati Tusinski Berg and Sarah Bonewits Feldner, both of Marquette University, who examine how corporations talk about the social impact of the CSR efforts and what the public expects from corporations in terms of social issues.
• Jennifer L. Bartlett of the Queensland University of Technology in Australia.  She looks into best practices and future trends in communication about diversity.
• Sora Kim and Mary Ann T. Ferguson, both of the University of Florida, who will look at predictors to evaluate effective CSR communication.
• Denise Bortree of Penn State University who will discuss strategies and impacts of environmental sustainability communication from Fortune 500 companies.

The International Communications Association is holding its annual meeting at the Seattle Sheraton Hotel May 22-26.  The ICA is an academic association for scholars interested in the study, teaching, and application of all aspects of human and mediated communication.

 The Page Center at Penn State is named for Arthur W. Page, longtime vice president for public relations at AT&T.  Page is often regarded as the founder of the modern practice of corporate public relations.  He was widely known for management according to the Page Principles, his guidelines for ethical and effective communication with key publics and for responsible corporate behavior.

 The Page Center seeks to foster a modern understanding and application of the Page Principles. It supports innovative research, and educational or public service projects in a variety of academic disciplines and professional fields.