1982

In 1982, Johnson & Johnson recalled 31 million Tylenol capsules in response to product tampering, AT&T agreed to divest itself of 22 subdivisions, Sony and Philips introduced the CD-ROM, the Weather Channel debuted on U.S. cable television—and the IABC Research Foundation was established as a nonprofit corporation to advance the communication profession and demonstrate its value in organizational effectiveness through education and research.

The foundation’s vision is to contribute a body of knowledge that advances the practice, perception and effectiveness of communication.

Its mission is to serve IABC, its members and others in the profession through research that supports and advances the practice of organizational communication.

“Communicators are a busy lot, often consumed with the tasks at hand,” says Warren Bickford, ABC, chair from 2002 to 2003. “Collectively, we often pay more attention to the art of what we do, at the expense of the science behind what we do. We need to continue to build the body of knowledge, critically examining the value we bring to our organization.”