Tom Kean Sr. named 2020 Page Center Awards honoree

January 16, 2020 • Jonathan McVerry

Former New Jersey governor and chairman of the 9/11 Commission Thomas Kean Sr. was selected as a 2020 honoree of a Larry Foster Award for Integrity in Public Communication. Kean will be honored along with honorees Gene Foreman, former managing editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Ginger Hardage, former senior VP of culture and communications at Southwest Airlines at the fourth annual Arthur W. Page Center Awards at 6 p.m. on Feb. 19, 2020 at the Intercontinental Barclay Hotel in New York City.

The Larry Foster Award recognizes work by professionals in the journalism, public relations, business and public service sectors. The dinner showcases the importance of integrity in these fields and has become a marquee event that honors communicators who have committed long careers to the concept of “truth well told."

Kean served as New Jersey’s 48th governor from 1982 to 1990. While in office, he became one of the most popular governors in the state’s history by focusing on inclusion. He helped shine a light on race relations, education, health and the environment. In 2002, Kean was selected to lead the 9/11 Commission, which was responsible for a detailed overview of how the United States prepared and responded to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Visit the awards page for more information about past events and honorees.

The awards dinner is a fundraiser that supports innovative research by Page Center scholars from universities around the world. The Center’s research projects aim to build the scholarly and public understanding of ethics in communications. To date, the Center has funded more than 250 scholars and awarded more than $870,000 in research funding. Areas of focus include corporate social responsibility, digital ethics, sustainability communication, advocacy, fake news and more.

Past honorees are Bill George, former CEO of Medtronic; Jack Rowe, former CEO of Aetna; Dean Baquet, executive editor of The New York Times; Alan Murray, president and CEO of Fortune; Gwen Ifill, former anchor of PBS Newshour (posthumous); Ann Barkelew, former general manager of FleishmanHillard; Marilyn Laurie; former executive vice president of public relations at AT&T (posthumous); John Onoda, consultant at Gagen MacDonald; and Dick Martin, former executive vice president of public relations at AT&T.