There have been many awards established and tributes given in Pat’s memory. \u00a0The recipients of these awards along with other luminaries of the field have eloquently reflected on Pat’s contributions to the profession. \u00a0Just some of their remarks follow below. \u00a0If you would like to add your reflections to this page, contact us!<\/p>\n
Plus the award that Pat and his firm set up themselves during their 35th year of practice:<\/p>\n
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Reflections on Pat from Recipients and More<\/strong><\/p>\n “Pat was that rare combination of genius\u00a0and generosity. He was forever on the\u00a0forefront of defining and redefining the\u00a0contemporary practice of public relations.\u00a0Pat was the most fervent advocate of\u00a0practicing public relations both as an art\u00a0and a science, and he forged new ground in\u00a0terms of establishing our profession as an\u00a0integral part of the management of\u00a0businesses, organizations, government and\u00a0public service. His vision sometimes\u00a0exceeded our grasp, but he was unceasing in\u00a0his commitment to teach us and inspire us to\u00a0take public relations into new realms, new\u00a0responsibilities. He showed us what public\u00a0relations could be at its very best, and then\u00a0by his own professional achievements and\u00a0his tireless commitment to teaching and\u00a0lecturing and writing, he helped us learn.<\/p>\n This true genius, when combined with his\u00a0generous spirit, played an integral role – no, – Kathy Lewton, Chair & CEO, PRSA, 2001<\/em><\/p>\n ” Pat Jackson was the prototype of what I think a public relations professional should be. He approached his work as an intellectual – constantly reading, thinking, theorizing and researching about what he did. Pat actively consumed academic research on public relations and related fields, used it in his professional practice and wrote about it in pr reporter. He consistently supported public relations research and education.\u00a0He and I appeared together on many programs over the years and worked together on a number of projects. I think Pat and I had the perfect symbiotic relationship of a scholar and a practitioner: We learned from each other and changed each other in ways that made me a better scholar and, I think, Pat a better practitioner. I don’t think anyone can ever replace him. REMARKS BY MARIA P. RUSSELL, ON THE OCCASION OF ACCEPTING THE 2017 PATRICK JACKSON AWARD. Thank you very much, Jane. The fact that this award is in the name of Patrick Jackson is personally and professionally rewarding \u2013 Pat was a great friend and mentor to me, and to so many others.<\/p>\n I must thank the Honors and Awards Committee and those who wrote on my behalf, including the leaders of The PRSA College of Fellows. Three minutes\u2019 time does not allow me to list all others who have mentored and pushed me and challenged me over many years, with their own good deeds. But I promise: cocktails are in your future!<\/p>\n I do thank PRSA, which has given me so many opportunities to learn, to lead and to serve with incredible students, peers, role models and thought leaders . . . I\u2019ve been teaching our Intro to Public Relations course for 30 years . . . and it is one of two favorites of mine because it gives me the opportunity to guide wide-eyed freshmen and sophomores from their early and vague concepts of Public Relations as \u201cimage building\u201d or \u201cdamage control\u201d or cool opportunities to hang out with celebrities. But that\u2019s OK, as they start their education. They come to see Public Relations as a \u201cmanagement function\u201d that builds and maintains relationships with the individuals and the groups that can bring an organization to success . . . or bring it to failure.<\/p>\n A few weeks into the semester, the schedule calls for \u201cThe Historical Evolution of Public Relations.\u201d Predictably, eyes often glaze over and I know what some are thinking: \u201cWhy should I care about a bunch of \u2018dead, white guys\u2019?\u201d It\u2019s a good question, asked by many next-generations.<\/p>\n For current students \u2013 and even for many in this room — I suppose Pat Jackson, who passed away, much too early, in 2001, can be counted among those \u201cdead white guys\u201d.<\/p>\n But for me and many others here, Pat was the inspirational servant-leader who, like other Public Relations pioneers, helped in that evolution, raising our sights from publicists to professionals, from image-makers to counselors to top management, and from order-takers to change agents in, and for, society.<\/p>\n Pat, while not a university faculty member, was a true educator. Our 2018 National Chair, my Syracuse friend and colleague, Tony D\u2019Angelo, once referred to Pat as \u201cthe Johnny Appleseed of Public Relations\u201d. And so he was. When Pat was president of PRSA, he gave 250 speeches in one year, visiting chapters, districts, sections and many national forums to advocate for Public Relations as an agent of behavior change.<\/p>\n This was new . . . this was transformative . . . this was evolutionary.<\/p>\n Pat also pushed this Society beyond a \u201cbunch of white guys\u201d and he was often a co-conspirator with our first national woman president, Betsy Ann Plank, to whom we owe PRSSA, the Plank Center at the University of Alabama, and so many other innovations.<\/p>\n And Pat, living and working not far from this historic city of Boston, had the revolutionary idea that great Public Relations counsel could happen anywhere, and that great PRSA leaders could be found anywhere, not just in the concrete canyons of New York. He was an entrepreneur and he inspired others to build this business boldly, even if their first office was a kitchen table.<\/p>\n Our early pioneers \u2013 Ivy Ledbetter Lee, Edward L. Bernays, Arthur W. Page, Clem Whittaker, Rex Harlow, Scott Cutlip, Harold Burson, Dan Edelman, Al Golin, Ofield Dukes and Pat Jackson, to name a very few . . . were not always right and did not claim to be, but they were bold enough in their times to take small, often experimental, steps, to move this profession down new paths.<\/p>\n Then came an incredible honor roll of thoughtful women and professionals of color who, in their own spirit of revolution, questioned, pushed for change and earned it, widening those early pathways and finding new ones. Again, not always right, but always willing to experiment and learn.<\/p>\n And now, in our classrooms sit the future of this profession who are so bright and so earnest, who are asking the right questions about ethical practices, globalization, truth and accuracy, diversity and inclusiveness . . . embarking, I hope, on their own commitment to life-long learning.<\/p>\n So \u2013 I do not apologize for that lecture on \u201cThe Historical Evolution of Public Relations.\u201d The old adage applies: those who do not study history are bound to repeat it. <\/p>\n Thank you, Pat Jackson. Thank you, PRSA. Here\u2019s to the next 70 years of revolution and evolution.<\/p>\n ***** <\/p>\n Maria P. Russell, APR, Fellow PRSA, is a professor of Public Relations at Syracuse University\u2019s Newhouse School of Public Communications, where she directs the School\u2019s Office of Executive Education. She can be reached at mprussel@syr.edu or 315.443.4066.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There have been many awards established and tributes given in Pat’s memory. \u00a0The recipients of these awards along with other luminaries of the field have eloquently reflected on Pat’s contributions to the profession. \u00a0Just some of their remarks follow below. … Continue reading
\nthe integral role – in the development of the\u00a0Public Relations Society into the\u00a0organization it is today. He was always\u00a0there, to chair a blue ribbon task force or\u00a0counsel on a thorny problem; to help us see\u00a0our way through an issue or create a new\u00a0way of doing things. Without his incisive\u00a0and insightful leadership that continued, full\u00a0force, long after his term on the national\u00a0board ended, PRSA today would be a far\u00a0less successful organization. ”<\/p>\n
\n-Jim Grunig University of Maryland, 2001<\/em><\/p>\n\n
\nPRSA ICON, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, OCTOBER 8, 2017<\/p>\n
\nThis is a great honor, especially as I look beyond these bright lights and appreciate how many others could easily be standing here to accept this award for leadership and service to PRSA.<\/p>\n
\nBy the way, PRSA, Happy 70th Anniversary!<\/p>\n