UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication elected two new members to its advisory board: Margery Kraus, founder and executive chairman of APCO Worldwide, and Patrick Parsons, emeritus professor at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.
The new board members each add four decades of experience in their fields. In 1984, Kraus transformed APCO from a small Washington, D.C. company into a global advisory and advocacy firm. In 1986, Parsons began his long career as a faculty member with the Bellisario College. He is an expert in emerging technology, its use and its effect on society.
The Page Center’s advisory board consists of 18 active and retired leaders in several professional disciplines, including advertising, education, corporate communication, journalism, and public relations.
“As our advisory board grows, we make efforts to include leading voices that speak with experience about ethics and integrity in public communication,” said Denise Bortree, director of the Page Center and associate dean for academic affairs at the Bellisario College. “Margery and Patrick are tremendous leaders, and they will help us face industry and societal challenges with an innovative and ethical eye.”
Margery Kraus
Kraus has deep expertise in providing strategic counsel on issue-based communication, crisis management, market entry and corporate reputation across diverse industry groups. Kraus has led APCO through numerous transitions, including overseeing a management buyout in 2004, which made APCO one of the largest privately-owned consulting firms in the world and the largest that is majority women-owned. APCO has garnered numerous awards and recognitions, including being named by Forbes in 2024 as one of America’s Best Management Consulting Firms. During her career, Kraus has received many prestigious awards, including the 2024 Multicultural Media & Correspondents Association Lifetime Achievement Award, 2021 IWEC Foundation Award, PRWeek U.S. Power List (2023, 2022, 2021, 2020); Women Elevating Women – Communicate Pillar Award (2023); and PRWeek Top 20 Most Influential Communicator (2018) award.
Patrick Parsons
Parsons is the emeritus Don Davis Professor of Ethics and Professor of Communications at Penn State. Over his 37 years with the Bellisario College, he taught courses in journalism and telecommunications ethics. He was also director of the College’s Davis Program in Ethical Leadership. During his tenure he served as head of the Department of Telecommunications and associate dean for undergraduate education. His research interests, in addition to ethics and social responsibility, include media history and the social implications of technological change. He is co-editor of The Journalist’s Moral Compass and author of "Blue Skies: A History of Cable Television" and "Cable Television and the First Amendment," as well as co-author of "The Cable and Satellite Television Industry." His scholarly articles have appeared in numerous books and journals including Journal of Mass Media Ethics, Journal of Communication, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, and Journal of Advertising. His doctorate is from the University of Minnesota.
The Page Center is a research center in the Bellisario College that advances ethics and integrity in all forms of public communication. Its primary initiatives include funding research that increases the understanding of integrity in public communication, reinforcing the role of ethics in communications education, and finding connections within the profession.
For two decades, the Page Center has become an international leader in research on ethics and integrity in public communication. Over the past 20 years, the center has funded more than 300 scholars and awarded nearly $1 million in research funding.
The other members of the Page Center advisory board are Bill Nielsen (chair) former head of communications at Johnson & Johnson; Roger Bolton, president of Page and former senior vice president of communications at Aetna; Sandra Clark, CEO of StoryCorps; Suki Dardarian, editor and senior vice president of the Star Tribune; Ellyn Fisher, Bellisario College alumna and senior vice president of marketing and communications of the Ad Council; Aedhmar Hynes, board director of IP Group Plc and Jackson Family Wines; Marie Hardin, dean of the Bellisario College; Bill Margaritis, business consultant and investor; Tom Martin, executive-in-residence at the College of Charleston and former vice president of communications at ITT and FedEx; John Nichols, emeritus professor of communications at the Bellisario College; John Onoda, principal at iQ 360 Inc. and former executive at Charles Schwab, Visa and Levi Strauss; Andy Polansky, former CEO of Weber Shandwick; Aimee Rinehart, senior product manager of AI strategy for the Associated Press ; Gary Sheffer, Sandra A. Frazier professor of public relations at Boston University and former vice president of corporate communications and public affairs at General Electric; Charlene Wheeless, CEO at Charlene Wheeless LLC.