Description: Two awards made each year, one to an outstanding junior and another to an outstanding senior majoring in Communication.
Criteria: A sum of money is available from the Anson H. Rowe Endowment fund to be awarded in equal parts to the outstanding junior and senior majoring in Communication based on the following criteria: 1) overall scholastic achievement; 2) demonstrated proficiency and breadth of experience in interpersonal communication, public speaking, and/or radio and television; and 3) financial need.
For the junior award, applications are solicited from any junior who qualifies and who will have completed the junior year by the end of the spring term. Applications for the senior award are solicited from those planning to do graduate work in communication who have been or are in the process of being admitted to a graduate school for next fall. Preference will be given to those planning to specialize in the areas of interpersonal communication, public speaking, radio or television.
To Apply: Applications should contain the following information:
1. Transcript with name, year, cumulative average
2. A resume and personal statement highlighting how proficiency has been demonstrated in interpersonal communication, public speaking, and/or radio and TV (please be specific). Personal statement should be approximately two pages/500 words.
3. Statement of financial need, including estimated income and expenses.
4. Three letters of recommendation reflecting competency and breadth of experience in interpersonal communication, public speaking and/or radio/television.
5. Any further supporting material such as notice of recognition, awards, outside activities, publication, etc.
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Bernays Award (Primus Inter Pares Award) Presented in the spring term
Description: Edward L. Bernays, ‘12, is known as the "Father of Public Relations." He helped found the Cornell Public Relations Student Society of America chapter in 1983 and established the Primus Inter Pares Award in 1984 to encourage chapter leadership. Mr. Bernays passed away March 9, 1995, at age 103.
Criteria: The award is given to a PRSSA member in good standing who demonstrates outstanding achievement and participation in PRSSA and who submits a superior essay. The award is presented in the Spring semester. Outstanding achievement and participation includes, but is not limited to: 1) holding chapter, district, or national offices; 2) chairing or serving on chapter, district or national committees; 3) participation in competitions, chapter activities and events; 4) implementing new or participating in existing chapter/district/national programs; 5) length of PRSSA membership during Cornell attendance; 6) public relations experience (jobs, internships); and 7) cumulative grade point average at Cornell.
To Apply: To apply for this award you must complete an application (available spring term) and an essay. The application must be signed by you and your faculty advisor. The essay may be no more than four pages in length. The application and essay must be typed. Include a copy of your resume with the application.
Description: Chester H. Freeman, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Communication set standards of excellence, leadership and commitment to Cornell University that few can surpass. The award is presented to a Communication junior who best exhibits the interdisciplinary character of the Department's program and who best reflects the spirit of Professor Freeman's contribution to the Communication Department and the Cornell community.
Criteria: Applicant must be a second semester junior Communication major with a minimum 2.5 cumulative academic average. Applicants should have proof of either demonstrated skills in oral communication, media or research skills, or media analysis or planning ability. Applicants should show evidence of leadership potential, breadth of interest outside the academic major, and evidence of concern for fellow human beings.
To Apply: To apply you must submit the following information: 1) Official transcript which must include year and cumulative average; 2) Resume and personal statement — statement should not exceed 700 words; 3) Three letters of recommendation reflecting skills in oral communication, leadership activities, involvement and interests outside the major, or indication of concern for fellow human beings (letters from outside the department are encouraged); and 4) Further support material. This could include evidence of recognition for service, awards, publications, documents, videotapes, portfolios. Include support material which highlights skills, leadership activities and outside interests.
Description: Ken Bissett of Hartsdale, NY, class of ‘90, began his education at Cornell in the School of Engineering. His strong love for creative writing and artistic talent eventually drew him to the Communication Department. Ken's friends and professors enjoyed his piquant but gentle humor. They remembered him as a brilliant artist and excellent student, someone who cared immensely about the art he created. In the fall of 1988 Ken joined the Syracuse-in-London Program because he felt the opportunity to study abroad would be a new and broadening experience. On December 21 he and 37 other college students returning from London were killed when their plane, Pan Am flight 103, was destroyed in flight by a terrorist bomb over Lockerbie, Scotland.
Ken's family and friends have established this fund to give recognition and encouragement to students like Ken who loved Cornell and the experience it offers.
Criteria: Income from the Bissett Communication Award fund provides an award (or awards) given annually during the Fall term to a junior or senior student enrolled in the Communication Department who exhibits academic excellence, sensitivity to others, creativity, and an interest in the arts.
To Apply: To apply for the Bissett award you must be a regular or transfer student (at least two semesters in the Department), be a junior or senior, and must have taken a visual, design, or writing course in the Department of Communication. Submit a copy of your transcript, a portfolio (original or copies) of art/design work and written material (can include course work), two letters of support, and an essay relating to interests and sensitivity to others.
Paul R. Guldin Memorial Endowment Presented in the spring and/or fall terms
Description: This was established in 1953 in memory of Mr. Paul R. Guldin, a 1912 CALS graduate.
Criteria: To be used to support initiatives within the Department of Communication to encourage undergraduate students in the College to become interested in and take part in the development of a more adequate community leadership in New York State and the U.S. This may include, but is not limited to, providing funds for bringing community, government, media, and business leaders to lecture in relevant Departmental courses, or to support student visits with such leaders or to take training which encourages them to become leaders. Upon receipt of proposals, specific uses of the Fund's income shall be determined each year by the Chair of the Department of Communication upon consultation with faculty members of the program.
Description: The Sheila Turner Seed Memorial Award for junior women majoring in Communication at Cornell University commemorates Sheila Turner Seed, a dynamic young writer and photo-journalist with Scholastic, Inc. Following her untimely death, Ms. Seed's husband, Scholastic, Inc., and Cornell established the award as a memorial to her. The award consists of a paid internship as an editorial trainee to be served with Scholastic, Inc.'s Choices magazine in New York City and an accompanying stipend.
Criteria: Junior woman undergraduate who has shown aptitude in the field of journalism or audio visuals, or both.
To Apply: To apply for this award, the following must be submitted: 1) a resume indicating your background and experience in publication or other forms of media; 2) a one-page statement of your plans and goals in the field of publishing. In your statement, show how this particular internship will help you achieve your goals; 3) a letter of recommendation from a referee of your choice (either your advisor or another professor); and 4) a writing sample. Suitable writing samples could include articles published in the Daily Sun or other newspapers, or samples of unpublished writing which would be suitable for print media production.
Student of the Year Award
Recognizes the outstanding student-level PR talent in the United States.
Every year, as part of PRWeek's award program - now recognized by most leading corporations and agencies as the premier program in the communications industry - we offer the opportunity for one of your students to win $5,000 and a paid internship at Weber Shandwick, the #1 ranked public relations agency in the world. At least two of the runners up also win a $1000 prize and paid internships. All the winners have gone on to have successful careers in the business. Previous entrants have said it is an enormously rewarding and educational experience just taking part - and of course, the winning students' school and faculty also gain considerable positive publicity from the competition.
What do students have to do? All we ask is that each is that each student design a PR campaign for a real-life client. Last year, for example, we asked students to design a program - from inception to evaluation - for the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism that would position the islands as the ideal locale for firm and photo producers in the entertainment industry. The details of the next challenge will be announced in September. The students who devise the best five entries as judged by our panel of experience pros are flown to New York to present their entries and take part in a mock crisis PR situation.
To register for an entry kit, please send an e-mail, with 'Student of the Year' in the subject heading, to awards@prweek.com. If you have any further questions, please contact our awards coordinator Jennifer Burke at 646-638-6021.
William B. Ward Communication Scholarship Fund Presented in the fall term.
Description: Thora Bracken Ward established this endowed scholarship in honor of her husband, Professor Emeritus William B. Ward, who is the symbolic father of the Department of Communication, its first chairman, and a teacher of communication courses at Cornell University for more than a half a century.
Criteria: A junior or senior majoring in the Department of Communication in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University who maintains a B average or above and is eligible to receive financial aid. Each year the Department will prepare a list of Communication majors meeting the first two selection criteria of the scholarship and send the names to the University's Office of Financial Aid. The Department's recommendations will be compared to the Financial Aids Office list of students eligible to receive need-based financial aid and a selection made.
Women Executives in PR Presented in the spring and fall terms
Description: Women Executives in Public Relations, a New York City area organization, has established this scholarship for Communication majors who plan a career in public relations.
One Cornell sophomore and one junior will be selected in May to receive $1,000 for the fall of their junior or senior year and, with continuing academic excellence (minimum of a 3.0 GPA), $1,000 for the spring semester.
Criteria: 1) A sophomore and a junior who are Greater New York city area residents (includes commuting-distance areas of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut); 2) demonstrated competence in academic areas related to public relations with a "B" or higher academic average; 3) extra-curricular activities which indicate a desire and potential to pursue a career in public relations.
Applicants must be planning a career in public relations and should exhibit that intent in course selection and extra-curricular activities. While many courses in the Department can be related to public relations, 272, 376, 282, and 250 are key; 350, 410, 411, 418 and 420 are examples of other especially relevant courses. Involvement in PRSSA, WICI, Madison and Tower or the campus student media will be considered (but not required) as will public relations internships, summer and part-time jobs, and volunteer work.
The Department will recommend no more than two students for each award to the WEPR Foundation Board for their final selection. The winners will attend and be recognized at WEPR's fall awards luncheon in New York City.
To Apply: The following items should be submitted to Lynn Alve, Department of Communication, 336 Kennedy Hall.
1. A brief letter of application including a statement of career intent, a description of public relations experience, a list of related courses taken (with grades) and planned for the senior year and the name of your advisor.
2. A current resume, a transcript of courses and evidence of residence.
3. No more than five representative samples of your work including at least one writing sample.
