Pat Ford Selected for Prestigious PRWeek Hall of Fame 2025 Class
Pat Ford, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) Public Relations professional-in-residence, will be one of six inductees into the PRWeek Hall of Fame 2025. He will be recognized for his outstanding contributions to the communications industry over the course of his career.
The 13th PRWeek Hall of Fame class includes Ford, Kathy Bloomgarden from Ruder Finn, Johnson & Johnson’s Vanessa Broadhurst, Torod Neptune from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, FleishmanHillard’s John Saunders and Real Chemistry’s Jim Weiss.
Ford joined UFCJC in 2017 after a 29-year career at Burson-Marsteller, where he had served as worldwide vice-chair and chief client officer. He also held roles as U.S. CEO, Asia-Pacific chair, global corporate practice chair and U.S. corporate practice chair.
Ford specializes in corporate reputation management, senior executive communications and issues and crisis management. Before joining Burson-Marsteller, Ford served as vice president for external affairs at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, one of America’s leading public-policy think tanks, in Washington, D.C.
He started his career as a journalist, including four years at The Jersey Journal in Jersey City, New Jersey. He is vice chair of the board of the Museum of Public Relations and serves on the boards of the Institute for Public Relations and the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations. He is a member of the advisory council of the Diversity Action Alliance, where he served as founding co-chair of the board.
In 2016, the IPR Board chose Ford as the 19th recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014, he received the Plank Center’s Milestones in Mentoring Legacy Award, which “recognizes those who have touched the lives of countless public relations professionals over the course of their exceptional careers.” In 2022, he received the President’s Award from the Hispanic Public Relations Association.
In recognition of his longstanding commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in public relations, the PR Council and PRWeek presented him with their Diversity Distinction in PR Award as 2016 Diversity Champion of the year for the agency side of the profession.
At UFCJC, Ford teaches courses in corporate reputation, crisis communications and corporate communication essentials.
The PRWeek 2025 Hall of Fame class and previous honorees will be celebrated at a gala event on Nov. 20 in New York City.
Category: College News
Tagged: Pat Ford PRWeek Hall of Fame 2025 Public Relations
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