Honorees urge courage, compassion and integrity at ninth Page Center Awards

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Communicating in a rapidly changing, unpredictable media landscape was a common theme during conversations with honorees at the ninth annual Page Center Awards. This year’s group of Larry Foster Award recipients shared tips and tactics for managing today’s challenges through adaptability, empathy and integrity.

Honorees Kaitlan Collins, chief White House correspondent and anchor at CNN; Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the Atlantic; Hubert Joly, Harvard Business School faculty member and former CEO of Best Buy; and Kelli Parsons, CEO of Avoq participated in the online event, which aired on March 23. The respected leaders were recognized for their commitment to honest and truthful communication with the public. This year's honorees join 25 past recipients in a group of remarkable communicators representing business, journalism, public relations and other areas.

Denise Bortree, Page Center director and interim dean of the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, and Jonathan McVerry, Page Center communications manager, hosted the awards live from a watch party held at Penn State’s University Park campus.

“There has never been a more important time to communicate with courage, with conviction, with compassion, and always with integrity,” Parsons told APCO founder and Page Center board member Margery Kraus.

Much of the opening conversation discussed not just adapting to change but embracing it. Parsons exemplified the power of people in managing issues and achieving goals, and said engagement can be a tool for crisis management.

“I just so deeply believe in the power of engagement,” she said, “particularly engaging with people with whom we may have differences, where we may hold opposing views.”

She added, “Show respect for differences. Listen before we assert. Find balance. I strive to ensure that I put people in the best position to excel, and to be a person willing to speak up for someone.”

After Parsons’ interview, CEO of StoryCorps and Page Center board member Sandra Clark interviewed Goldberg. The two journalists discussed the state of journalism, combatting disinformation and some of the qualities current public discourse is lacking — and needs.

"The country's not going to work if Americans don't like each other,” Goldberg said. “You can disagree with each other about anything, but we're not each other's enemies, so treat people with courtesy and respect."

Goldberg advised young journalists that the profession is a calling, which comes with a huge responsibility.

"It's not about your job. It's not about your career. It's not about the money. It's about fulfilling the mission as you understand the ethical mission.” he said. "Don't ever give into power. Don't ever be intimidated. The truth is on your side.”

Page Center vice chair and former CCO of Johnson & Johnson Michael Sneed interviewed Joly. During their Q&A, Joly shared his key principles for leadership: Leading with purpose, putting people at the center of decision making, embracing all stakeholders, acting with integrity when under pressure and modeling humanity and humility.

“In this world of AI, we're going to need more humanity and more empathy … than ever before,” he said. “I’ve learned over the years that I needed to lead with all my body parts. Not just the brain, but the soul, the guts, the ears, the eyes. It’s what’s needed to be an effective leader.”

Joly added, “I firmly believe that to be an effective business leader, you need to first be an effective leader of yourself.”

For the first time in the awards’ nine-year history, a Bellisario College student led an interview. Senior broadcast journalism major Olivia Sweigart interviewed Collins. Their conversation focused on using new media to one’s advantage, working with bias, finding mentors and being “up for anything.”

"It applies to anyone, not just a journalism major, but I think hard work is the best thing you can do. I think no matter what field you're in, you should be willing to try anything,” Collins said. “Keep an open mind when you're looking at job opportunities or career paths.”

Collins shared stories about how "saying yes" to opportunities took her to new places with new people. She said being curious and always learning is a key attribute to communicating with huge audiences about global issues — and that it’s perfectly OK to learn from others and ask for help.

“I think making sure you reach out to people to solicit advice and ask questions, people like that,” Collins said. “We like people who are more willing to just come and learn. You don't know everything, but if you're willing to show up and learn, we value that a lot."

Watch the entire Page Center Awards program and access bonus content from the event on the Center’s YouTube channel.

Ethics training module available to students

For the second time, the Page Center is offering a popular ethics training module that pairs advice and stories from Larry Foster Award recipients with core ethics concepts, showing how those principles apply in professional communication practice. Students who complete the module can earn a 2026 Page Center Integrity Badge. The deadline to complete the module is May 29.

Bill Nielsen “Impact Through Integrity” Endowment

Funds raised from this year's event will benefit the new Bill Nielsen “Impact Through Integrity” Endowment. Named after the center's long-time advisory board chair, this endowment will develop ethics-based research, events and training that professionals can use in the era of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. This year's platinum sponsor is Edelman.

About the Larry Foster Award

The namesake of the award, distinguished 1948 alumnus Larry Foster, founded the Page Center in 2004. The purpose of the Page Center Awards is to celebrate icons of ethics, integrity and truth in public communication. The event supports innovative research by Page Center scholars and educational opportunities for students studying in communication fields. The center’s research projects aim to build the scholarly and public understanding of ethics in communication. To date, the center has awarded more than $1 million in research funding to more than 350 scholars from around the world.

Areas of focus include corporate social advocacy, digital ethics, sustainability communication, advocacy, fake news and more. Other center initiatives focus on educational opportunities like regular speaker series, oral history archiving and an online educational ethics module program that has reached nearly 30,000 students.