Mike Fernandez Honored with Alexander Hamilton Medal for Lifetime Achievement in PR

Mike Fernandez, corporate vice president of corporate affairs at Cargill, received IPR's highest honor, the Alexander Hamilton Medal, at the 54th Annual Distinguished Lecture & Awards Dinner last Tuesday. The medal is given for major contributions to the practice of public relations including the use of research. 

Before joining Cargill, Fernandez served as the chief communications officer for four Fortune 500 companies and was a senior aide to a United States senator. Oscar Suris, chief communications officer at Wells Fargo, said Fernandez was a guiding force in his career path. "He listened and offered a safe place to talk through what the future might bring. He is a true inspiration." Fernandez' acceptance speech is now available. 
David Rockland, Ph.D., Ketchum Global Research and Analytics 

After the release of Barcelona Principles 2.0 this September, the team at Ketchum Global Research and Analytics produced a video on how to incorporate each Principle into a daily measurement plan. This video was created by Jocelyn Jackson, senior project manager at Ketchum, who wanted to explain how the revised Principles include greater attention to the role of qualitative methods alongside quantitative methods.

David Rockland, partner and CEO of Ketchum Global Research & Analytics, led the group that developed the Barcelona Principles 2.0 and the video outlining how to use them. He said, "The video will help us push the message of Barcelona Principles 2.0 further than even the most ambitious program of conference speaking engagements could achieve. What was particularly fun about this was to have some of my staff talk about how they apply the Principles in their work every day." Read more. 
Discovering a Trajectory Toward a More Diverse PR Profession
Lynn D. Appelbaum, City College of New York, and Franklin Walton, Ph.D., Franklin Walton LLC

Employers have embraced diversity recruitment with, reportedly, success. However, once the young African-American and Hispanic PR employees are hired, diversity sensitivity and valuation falls short.

According to a recent study, young PR professionals are positive about their experiences in the profession, but they acknowledge regular race-based obstacles that hinder their optimism for the future. One solution is to provide these employees with more mentoring and professional development opportunities for their future. Read more.

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