Edward M. Block, co-founder of the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication and the Arthur W. Page Society, died on Tuesday, Aug. 16.
A stalwart leader in public relations for decades, Block was a lifelong proponent of ethics and integrity across the industry. In 2004, along with fellow public relations leaders Larry Foster and Jack Koten, Block helped launch the Page Center, a research center in Penn State’s College of Communications that studies and advances ethics and responsibility in corporate communication and other forms of communication.
“Ed was an inspiring man to everyone who had the privilege to work with him. In our time working together, I always found him kind-hearted, helpful and incredibly wise,” said Denise Bortree, director of the Page Center and associate professor in the College of Communications. “His research and writings on Arthur W. Page have encouraged a generation of professionals and scholars to reach high levels of integrity in our work.”
WATCH Larry Foster interview Ed Block in a Page Center oral history
Block served as senior vice president for public relations, advertising and employee information at AT&T from 1974 to 1986. It was during his time at the telephone company that he was introduced to the works of Arthur W. Page who was the first to hold Block’s position at AT&T between 1927 and 1946. Page’s commitment to honesty and integrity inspired Block.
In 1983, Block co-founded what would become the world's leading professional association for senior public relations and corporate communications executives and educators. He named the association after Page, The Arthur W. Page Society.
In 2004, with Foster, Koten and members of the College of Communications, Block co-founded the Page Center. Foster and Koten died in 2013 and 2014, respectively. The college’s dean at the time, Doug Anderson, recalled the day he met with the center’s three founders and its first director John Nichols, then the associate dean for graduate studies at the college.
Anderson said: “Some 12 years have passed since John Nichols and I sat with three members of the Arthur W. Page Society’s Hall of Fame in a conference room in the College of Communications. The Hall-of-Fame trio—Larry Foster, Jack Koten and Ed Block—were each larger than life. John and I sat in awe as we listened to them outline their vision for the Page Center, which they summarized in a letter to the Page Society Board.”
Anderson added that the three founders decided the Page Center would represent “yet another step toward a long-term goal of enlarging the understanding of a body of work that will influence future generations of corporate executives and their public relations advisers.” The Page Board approved it unanimously.
“All three were splendid professionals—and men,” Anderson said. “Penn State will be forever grateful for their guidance, insight and support of the Page Center. We’ll always remember Ed not only for his support, but for his authenticity and kindness, qualities that matched his professional pedigree. He was a joy to work with and talk to.”