Bellisario College faculty member joins leading communications organization

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Holly Overton, a faculty member of the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, was selected to join the Arthur W. Page Society, a prestigious association of leaders and experts in corporate communications.

Overton is an associate professor of advertising/public relations in the Bellisario College and research director of the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication at Penn State. Members of the Page Society — commonly referred to as Page and a separate organization from the Page Center — are primarily chief communications officers for Fortune 500 corporations and leading academics from top business and communications schools.

“I am thrilled to be part of the Page community,” Overton said. “Page offers unparalleled networking opportunities, resources, and professional development opportunities that I know will inform my contributions to the Page Center and the other organizations I serve.”

Since earning her doctorate from the Bellisario College in 2016, Overton has become a prolific leader and researcher in the public relations field. She was a faculty member at the University of South Carolina from 2016 to 2021 before returning Penn State. Her research interests include corporate social responsibility communication and corporate social advocacy. She also focuses on examining psychological factors that impact information processing and engagement among stakeholders.

She has published more than 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and her work has appeared in more than a dozen journals. Overton has presented more than 50 conference papers at national and international conferences where she has won numerous top paper awards from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (2014 and 2021), the International Communication Association (2016), the International Public Relations Research Conference (2021 and 2022), and the Broadcast Education Association (2021), among others.

Overton is the head of the Public Relations Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, which held its annual conference in Detroit. She was also named a fellow of the Institute for Diverse Leadership during the conference.

Overton also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Public Relations Research and the advisory committee of the International Public Relations Research Conference.

As research director of the Page Center, Overton oversees the scholarly work of faculty members from colleges around the world. She is currently moderating two research calls focused on corporate social advocacy and sustainability.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to connect with global leaders who are committed to embracing fresh strategies to strengthen the profession,” Overton said.

According to its website, the Page Society is the world's leading professional association for senior public relations and corporate communications executives and educators. Its mission is to “strengthen the enterprise leadership role of the CCO” and embrace high professional standards by creating a collaborative learning environment for leaders and experts.

Since its 2004 founding, the Page Center has become an international leader in research on ethics and integrity in public communication. The center has funded nearly 300 scholars and awarded more than $1 million in research funding.

Arthur W. Page (1883-1960), the longtime vice president for public relations at AT&T, is often regarded as the founder of the modern practice of corporate public relations. He also was a noted educator, publisher and adviser to several U.S. presidents.