Winner: Ann Marie Varga, Assistant Vice President of Public Relations, Rollins College
Anyone who has worked (or studied) in academia knows shoestring budgets are a sine qua non. But Rollins College's Ann Marie Varga learned to make the most of what she's got. A
Rollins alumna, Varga returned to the Florida school in 2000. One of her best skills is her ability "to treat others as I want to be treated - as an esteemed colleague. I'm not a
pushover; I can be tough, but I'm always fair and try to lead by example."
For Varga, "Success has come from striving for excellence and surrounding myself with people who have the same dedication. I try to find creative and innovative ways to do
things, I try to maintain a nurturing, inclusive community, and we definitely have fun."
Highlights of her years at Rollins include creating a plan to save the institution's beloved specialty license plate, as well as building an emergency communications plan. Her
outreach program for the college was covered by The New York Times and "Saturday Early Show."
Varga - who tries to make "a positive difference in everything" she does - supervises an annual event on campus to generate stories from her "internal clients." About 50 new
ideas every year go into the R-Community News, as well as R-Journals, which share students' experiences of life at Rollins.
Her working relationships over the years have flowed both ways. "I have had four mentors whom I have also mentored or influenced," she says. "These colleagues have retained my
services, have been my intern then later my boss, or my boss then later my freelance consultant. Today, we all continue to be treasured colleagues."
The winner of Central Florida's 2004 "PR Professional of the Year" award takes her energy and commitment into the community. She helped the Florida Hospital implement a
community awareness program during a medical malpractice crisis on a volunteer basis.
Varga notes, "I think my proudest achievement in 2005 was earning the oversight of the Rollins home page. By doing our research and showing tangible results, my team was able
to earn the confidence of the administration. With a revised design and major changes in functionality, our site will make a great leap this academic year."
Contact: [email protected]
Honorable Mention
John Morgan has made Quinnipiac University a household name in his role as director of public relations. He was instrumental in keeping the university's law school visible last
year when Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was retiring, and arranged appearances for another professor on "The O'Reilly Report" to talk about media coverage of air
marshals who shot a passenger in Miami.