Robin Street (left) accepts a Silver Anvil Award of Excellence from the Public Relations Society of America recently in New York.
… “Diversity Rocks!” earns national recognition for innovation and creativity
The Meek School of Journalism and New Media at the University of Mississippi received a Silver Anvil Award of Excellence from the Public Relations Society of America during a recent ceremony in New York City.
The Award of Excellence, which recognizes outstanding strategic public relations planning and implementation, was presented to Robin Street, UM lecturer in journalism, for the university’s “Diversity Rocks!” campaign.
“I was thrilled when they called our name because we were the only university to win anything that night,” Street said. “Most of the other winners were from the biggest public relations agencies in the world or from huge companies such as IBM and Procter & Gamble.”
“Diversity Rocks!” earned first runner-up in the Associations, Government, Nonprofit Organizations category. Global public relations agency Burson-Marsteller won the Silver Anvil Award in the same category for its “Igniting Participation for the Cause” campaign for Taco Bell Foundation for Teens.
Street created “Diversity Rocks!” to promote acceptance of diverse people in terms of race, sexual orientation, disabilities or other differences. Fourteen of her current and former students helped implement it. The campaign previously won “Best in Show” from both the Public Relations Association of Mississippi and the Southern Public Relations Federation.
“The Award of Excellence recognizes top comprehensive programs in the public relations industry,” said James J. Roop, chair of the 2012 Awards and Honors Committee and president of Roop & Co. in Cleveland, Ohio. “PRSA is honored to bestow upon the University of Mississippi an Award of Excellence for their outstanding effort in employing sound public relations strategy to its business and community outreach.”
The Silver Anvil Awards program, founded in 1946, presents awards in 59 categories and subcategories. With more than 31,000 members, Headquartered in New York, PRSA is the world’s largest organization of public relations professionals and students.
For more information, visit the Meek School of Journalism and New Media or call 662-915-7146.