Each fall semsester, the Department of Advertising and Public Relations conducts the Donald W. Davis Symposium. The Symposium was made possible through the generous support of alumnus Donald W. Davis Jr. ('42 Journ), who established the program to honor the memory of his father, former Penn State professor Donald W. Davis Sr.

The Symposium is intended perpetuate the ideals of ethics in advertising that Davis Sr. maintained throughout his professional and academic careers. The elder Davis established the University’s advertising program in 1936. He also published his Basic Text in Advertising, which emphasized the “continuing fight for standards,” and exemplified his approach to advertising.

Donald W. Davis Jr. is the retired chairman and CEO of Stanley Works, one of the largest international manufacturers of builders' hardware and tools. Under his leadership, Stanley grew to a "Fortune 200" company with annual sales approaching $2 billion. In addition, for nearly 20 years, Davis has taught courses in ethics and leadership at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was named a Distinguished Alumnus of Penn State, the highest honor the University bestows upon its alumni, in 1972. In 2005, he endowed the Don Davis Professorship in Ethics at Penn State.

-- Previous Davis Symposium speakers have included:
Fall 2006, Former Enron executive Lynn Brewer presented "Conessions of an Enron Executive.”
Fall 2005, Reed Bolton Byrum, past president and CEO of the Public Relations Society of America, presented “Trust and the Ethical Management of Corporate Reputation.”
Fall 2004, Paul Kurnit, founder and president of KidShop, a marketing, advertising and entertainment executive with diverse experience in all facets of the youth marketplace. He presented "Children and Advertising: Issues and Ethical Concerns."
Fall 2003, Wallace S. Snyder, president and CEO of the American Advertising Federation, whose keyonte addressed was titled "Ethical Issues in Advertising: Advertising Ethics is Not an Oxymoron."
Fall 2002, the symposium was titled "Issues and Ethics in Advertising Creativity" and featured Keith Reinhard, chairman, DDB Worlwide Communications Group; Debra Goldman, business writer, Adweek; and Kurt Graetzer, CEO, National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board (Got Milk? campaign).

Davis Symposium
About the Keynote Speaker

About the Moderator

About Donald Davis Sr.

For information:
(814) 865-9393