RIT recognized for public relations efforts

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Members of University News and Production Services, (from left) Vienna McGrain, Joe Venniro, David Wivell, Rich Kiley, Raman Bhalla, Michelle Cometa and Bob Finnerty, celebrated big wins at the recent PRism Awards ceremony sponsored by the Rochester chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

Rochester Institute of Technology won eight awards at the 2014 PRism Awards ceremony — including top awards in four categories. University News Services collected three PRism statuettes and three Awards of Excellence. RIT’s Production Services group won the website category, taking home both a PRism and an Award of Excellence. The awards, hosted by the Rochester chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, honor outstanding work in the field of public relations, among both corporate and not-for-profit sectors.

“RIT is an emerging global university, and we have a talented team of storytellers who consistently find creative ways to advance our mission,” said Bob Finnerty, RIT chief communications officer. “We have a strong public relations community in Rochester, and it’s always an honor to be recognized by PRSA.”

At the awards ceremony, held June 19 at the Rochester Museum and Science Center, University News Services and RIT Production Services took top honors in these categories:

• Best Blogs/Blogger Campaign: “RIT President Destler’s Huffington Post Blog”
• Best Feature Story: “Part-time Joe, Full-time Inspiration,” written by Joe Venniro, executive sports information director
• Best Multicultural Public Relations: “RIT’s Office for Diversity & Inclusion and University News Collaboration for Multicultural PR,” Morgan Martins, Office for Diversity and Inclusion, and Michelle Cometa, University News
• Best Website: RIT Mechanical Engineering, designed and developed by RIT Production Services

University News Services also received three second-place honors, known as Awards of Excellence. Those awards were for:

• Newsletter: Athenaeum, a campus-wide publication produced by the UNS staff six times a year, under the direction of Associate Director and Managing Editor Vienna McGrain. The Athenaeum has been honored in this category every year since it was first published in 2009.
• Institutional /Image Communications: “Branding RIT through Video Storytelling,” featuring campus videos produced by University News videographer David Wivell
• Media Relations: “RIT’s Golisano Institute for Sustainability,” led by UNS senior communications specialist Rich Kiley
• Website: “RIT Center for Entrepreneurship Website,” designed and developed by RIT Production Services

The winners were chosen from among more than 150 corporate and not-for-profit entries. Judging this competition were members of the Kansas City chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. 

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