Washington, D.C., counselor Ofield Dukes, offered a non-voting board position after the nominating committee picked Barbara Whitman of Hawaii as the official nominee for an at-large board post, said he will not serve as "senior counsel."
Dukes would have been the only African-American on the board and only the fourth African-American on the board in the 62-year history of the society.
A Dukes e-mail to odwyerpr.com said:
Ofield Dukes |
"I have e-mailed word to William Murray, Rhoda Weiss and Gary McCormick that since a controversy has erupted over the Society's nominating committee transparency, objective set of criteria, and fairness in the selection of the winning candidate for the at-large position, of which I was one of the candidates, I have declined chair-elect Gary McCormick's gracious invitation to serve as senior counsel during his administration.
"As a matter of conscience, there are some principles of fairness, justice and integrity that should not and cannot be compromised, especially by a national organization that advocates ethics and transparency in the professional practice of public relations."
Rochelle Ford Defends Nomcom
Rochelle Ford |
Rochelle Ford, Ph.D., of Howard University, the only African-American on the 21-member nominating committee, said the committee acted fairly and that there are several ways to define "diversity."
She said diversity will be represented on the 2010 board by Rosanna Fiske, who has emphasized her Hispanic background (but whose bio notes she is also Jewish, Chinese and French). Fiske's expected election as chair-elect will be a "giant step" in diversity for the Society, Ford said.
She is associate dean, Research and Academic Affairs, John H. Johnson School of Communications, Howard University, Washington, D.C.
Paul Decries Lack of African-Americans
New York counselor Michael Paul, who earlier this year berated the Society for not having any people of color on the board, said that the leadership of a national group such as PRS should reflect the population of the nation which is about 12% African-American.
Therefore, he said, there should be at least one black on the board. The diversity issue is not solved by just having Rosanna on the board, he said.
Paul met with Cherenson and Murray earlier this year in an effort to have the board appoint one or more black senior counsels to the 2009 board. No such appointment or appointments were made.
Mike Paul |
Paul said PRS has simply not reached out to numerous qualified executives of color that would help the Society to reflect the make-up of America.
He wondered why Ford herself is not on the Society's board.
"The PR Society, as the conscience of American business, must set an example for the rest of the country," he said.
As for arguments that there is a lack of qualified black candidates for the PRS board, Paul said he could introduce the Society to hundreds of such candidates from numerous industries.
"Ethical lapses are the root cause of the current economic collapse and the PR profession, more than any other, should be the leader in ethical behavior," he said.
Nomcom Members
Members of the nominating committee included 2005 president Judith Phair; Michael Herman, College of Fellows; Joseph Trahan, counselor of McDonough, Ga., and co-chair of the 2007-2008 anniversary committee; Betsy Plank, 1973 president representing the past presidents; Douglas Fenichel, APR chair of the New Jersey chapter; counselor Denis Wolcott of Canyon Country, Calif., and (as ex-officio members) 2008 chair Jeff Julin and Barry Glazer, parliamentarian. |