Public Relations Society of America history

In the United States, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has guided the work of professionals in the field since 1948.

In 1950, the organization adopted its first code of ethics in order to provide guidance for its members about ethical behavior in the field.

Enforcement mechanisms in the bylaws of the PRSA were added when the PRSA revised the code in 1954.

When the PRSA revised the Code of Ethics once more in 1959, enforcement language was added to the text of the code.

The Old Dominion Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America was organized during the winter of 1960-61 by 17 members of the national society who were then residing and working in Virginia.

In 1962, the society established a board to actively seek out ethical violators, a responsibility that had previously been assigned to PRSA members.

Following institution of PRSA’s national Accreditation program, three founding members of ODC became Virginia’s first Accredited in Public Relations practitioners when they received certificates from the incoming national president at the chapter’s winter meeting in December, 1965.

They reached their triumph in November 1967 at the PRSA Assembly in Philadelphia, where delegates voted unanimously to establish PRSSA.

One of the three, Donald B. McCammond, subsequently became PRSA’s national president in 1970.

The first chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) was chartered in 1972 at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond.

In 1973, ODC also became a co-sponsor of the statewide Public Relations Awards presented during the spring conference.

The first such award was presented by the chapter in December 1975 to Richard A. Velz, APR.

A 1977 revision of the Code aligned with other PRSA revisions that year, including a new Declaration of Principles that referenced the importance of human rights.

The second chapter was chartered in 1978 at Norfolk State University in Norfolk.

Later, responsibility for liaison with the Norfolk State PRSSA chapter was transferred to the new Hampton Roads chapter of PRSA. In 1985, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University became the third campus for a Virginia PRSSA chapter.

In 1988, the PRSA adopted a three-part code of ethics with a declaration of principles, a pledge of professional conduct, and a 17-item list detailing appropriate behavior on the part of public relations professionals.

In 1989, the PRSA Foundation established the Society’s first-ever scholarship endowment fund in her name.