GAINESVILLE, FL [October 11, 2007] - The Institute for Public Relations announced today that Kirk Hallahan, Ph.D., professor at Colorado State University, will receive the 2007 Pathfinder Award for outstanding scholarly contributions to professional knowledge. The Institute will also bestow the Northwestern Mutual Best Master's Thesis Award on Major Chad G. Carroll, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

The awards will be presented at the Annual Distinguished Lecture & Awards Dinner, Thursday, Nov. 8 at the New York City Yale Club. This year's lecture will be delivered by Beth Comstock, President of NBC Universal Integrated Media. As previously announced, Larry Foster, retired Corporate Vice President-Public Relations for Johnson & Johnson, will accept the Institute's Alexander Hamilton Medal for lifetime achievement in public relations.

Tickets and tables for the event can be purchased by visiting the Institute's website, www.instituteforpr.org, or by calling 352-392-0280.

The Pathfinder award includes a $2,000 grant. Hallahan's scholarly record includes almost 30 refereed journal articles and book chapters. He has focused his recent research on the application of online technologies to public relations practice. A former practitioner with 19 years of professional experience, he entered his second career in public relations education in 1991. After receiving his Ph.D. in mass communications at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he taught for three years at the University of North Dakota before joining the faculty of Colorado State in 1996.

Major Carroll, who completed his master's degree at UNC in May 2007, will receive a $2,000 prize while his faculty adviser receives $1,000. His thesis is titled, "The U.S. Army Public Diplomacy Officer: Military Public Affairs Officers' Roles in The Global Information Environment." The findings of his research suggest that these officers would be more effective if trained to interact with foreign publics, not just domestic publics as they are now. Dulcie Straughan, Ph.D., associate professor who heads the public relations sequence in the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication, served as the thesis advisor.

For 150 years, The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (www.nmfn.com), Milwaukee, WI has been serving the financial needs of its policyowners and clients, and currently has over $1 trillion of life insurance protection in force. For 24 years, a FORTUNE magazine survey has named Northwestern Mutual "America's Most Admired" company in the life/health insurance industry.