Contact: Sarah Nicholas

STARKVILLE, Miss.—The leader of Mississippi State University’s Department of Communication has been inducted into a prestigious New York-based international public relations society.

John E. Forde, also a department professor, was inducted last month into the Arthur W. Page Society during the group’s annual conference in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1983, the invitation-only organization includes approximately 800 members from more than 20 countries. 

Considered to be the world’s premier professional association for senior communications and public relations executives and educators, the Page Society’s mission is to strengthen the public relations field and its leadership by embracing high professional standards and advancing the way communication is understood.

Founder Arthur W. Page was vice president of public relations for AT&T from 1927 to 1946 and is credited with bringing an understanding and appreciation for public relations to the highest levels of corporations. For more on the Page Society, visit www.page.org.   

“I’m very honored to be invited to join the Page Society,” Forde said. “This is an organization I’ve admired for decades and discussed in class, and to be recommended and accepted by colleagues is very humbling.”

Forde said attending the society’s conference was a “tremendous experience” and feels his membership will allow him to “continue learning about the changing world of public relations and develop increasing numbers of worldwide professional contacts” for his students.

“Because the Page Society has such strict membership requirements, Dr. Forde’s induction indicates he is known by his peers as a top professional in the public relations world,” said Rick Travis, dean of MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences. 

Public relations colleague Bey-Ling Sha of San Diego State University was one of Forde’s supporters for admission into the society.

“I met Dr. Forde through our mutual work on the Universal Accreditation Board, which oversees the world’s largest professional certification program for public relations practitioners,” Sha said. “I nominated him for the Page Society because he embodies all of the Page Principles, in particular ‘be calm, patient and good-humored.’”

Born in Mississippi and reared in Omak, Washington, Forde has been a faculty member in MSU’s communication department since 1987 and has served as department head since 2004. He teaches the department’s Principles of Public Relations course.

Forde earned his bachelor’s degree in communication from MSU in 1983. At the University of Southern Mississippi, he earned his master of science in public relations in 1984 and his Ph.D. in communication in 1988. 

Prior to teaching, Forde was director of public relations at then William Carey College in Hattiesburg from 1985 to 1987.

Forde has served as chair and co-chair of the Universal Accreditation Board, president of the Southern Public Relations Federation and president of the Public Relations Association of Mississippi, both the state chapter and two local chapters.

Along with the SPRF Hall of Fame, Forde has been inducted into the Public Relations Society of America College of Fellows and the University of Southern Mississippi School of Mass Communication and Journalism Hall of Fame.

MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences includes more than 5,300 students, 300 full-time faculty members, nine doctoral programs and 25 academic majors offered in 14 departments. Complete details about the College of Arts and Sciences or the communication department may be found at www.cas.msstate.edu or www.comm.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.