The Richmond chapter of the Public Relations Society of America presented its most prestigious award for career accomplishments to Judy VanSlyke Turk, director of Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Mass Communications.

Turk, who has been the school's director since 2002, received the 2008 Thomas Jefferson Award for Excellence in Public Relations last week.

Before joining VCU, Turk worked in journalism schools at a number of universities. She was the founding dean of the College of Communication and Media Sciences at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates. Turk has also served as dean of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina and director of journalism and mass communications at Kent State University.

Turk is also president-elect of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communications and is a former president of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.

During the award ceremony, the Richmond chapter also recognized the region's best public-relations campaigns and tactics.