Public relations professionals at the University of Rochester were recognized with seven PRism Awards and three Awards of Excellence during the 2013 Rochester Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America PRism Awards ceremony held on Thursday, June 20. An annual gathering of public relations professionals from the Greater Rochester area, the ceremony celebrates excellence in the field of public relations and communications. Rochester's communications staff was awarded for their promotion of the research, innovations, services, and initiatives that take place on the River Campus and at the Medical Center.
The Simon School public relations team, along with Coyne Public Relations, was awarded a PRism in the Business-to-Business category for raising the visibility of the school through national media coverage and for overall public relations excellence. The award recognizes efforts to build brand awareness and raise visibility of the Simon School. In May, Simon and Coyne also won the Big Apple Award from the PRSA New York City Chapter in the same category for "Shining the Spotlight on a World-Class Institution."
At Highland Hospital, Brenda Benedict, senior creative designer in the marketing department, received a PRism Award in the Design Piece category for her work with the Highland Hospital Gala 2013. At the Medical Center, Heather Hare received a PRism Award in the Facebook category for outstanding use of the social media site to engage and increase Golisano Children's hospital supporters during Miracle Weekend 2012 using live updates, photo albums uploaded at strategic times, and encouragement of tagging. Leslie White was honored with an Award of Excellence in the Feature Story category for raising awareness of the need for greater organ donation through placement of a Democrat & Chronicle story chronicling the lives of seven men who have been waiting months for heart transplants.
On the River Campus, University Communications earned four PRism Awards and two Awards of Excellence. Valerie Alhart received an Award of Excellence in the news release category for her successful placement of stories in national publications announcing the new Institute for Popular Music. A PRism Award in the news release category was given to Melissa Greco Lopes for her work promoting "Remember UR Name," the hip-hop video created by the Office of Admissions and featuring the Midnight Ramblers. Susan Hagen received two PRism Awards, one in the Research category for national and local press coverage of the brain and cognitive sciences study Marshmallow Study Revisited. Hagen, along with Larry Arbeiter, also won in the Editorial/Op-Ed Column category for their efforts in assisting psychology researchers Richard Ryan and William Ryan in writing the New York Times opinion piece, "Homophobic? Maybe You're Gay." University videographer Matt Mann took home an Award of Excellence in the External Video Category, for his visual portrayal of the Marshmallow Study Revisited. Writing and design team Kristine Thompson, Sarah Kirchoff, Mike Osadciw, Steve Dow, and Kathleen McGarvey were awarded a PRism in the Other Writing Projects category for their work on the Arts, Sciences, and Engineering Case Statement.