Public relations industry leader and USC alumna Cecilia Wilkinson (pictured) will be honored with the establishment of an endowed scholarship fund in her memory at USC Annenberg.
Wilkinson, 57, was a principal of the respected Los Angeles-based investor relations and corporate communications firm PondelWilkinson Inc. She died in September 2006 after a 20-month battle with cancer.
“Cecilia Wilkinson was among the very best in her profession and we are fortunate to have been able to count her among our alumni,” said Jerry Swerling, director of public relations studies at USC Annenberg’s School of Journalism. “She was deeply devoted to USC and we are honored that future generations of Annenberg students will be able to benefit from the generosity of her colleagues, friends and family.”
She earned master's and bachelor's degrees in public relations from USC Annenberg’s School of Journalism, where she later taught undergraduate and graduate classes as an adjunct professor. In 1994, she was honored with the school's Distinguished Journalism Alumni award. She served on the Board of Governors of the USC General Alumni Association and was a former president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
The Cecilia Wilkinson Memorial Scholarship will be awarded annually to a first-year strategic public relations graduate student with an interest in corporate/investor communication and reputation management. The scholarship winner will also be eligible to interview for an internship with PondelWilkinson.
Initial funding for the scholarship comes from her colleagues at PondelWilkinson, friends, family and a bequest from her estate.
