New grants advance research on CSR, advocacy and activism in a complex cultural and political landscape

The Page Center announced the recipients of its 2026 Page/Johnson Legacy Scholar grants, selecting 11 projects that will assess how corporate social responsibility, advocacy and activism are evolving in a polarized political and cultural environment.

The grant call for proposals was announced in August and received 67 submissions from scholars around the world. The accepted projects feature 26 scholars from 15 universities. Areas to be addressed in the call include environmental justice, DEI backlash, and other corporate advocacy and activism insights and strategies.

Funding innovative and timely research through its Page/Johnson Legacy Scholar Grant program is a core initiative of the Page Center. Each year, the Center appoints senior research fellows to identify emerging issues and solicit research proposals that advance scholarly, industry and public understanding of those topics.

The current research call is led by senior research fellows Heidi Hatfield Edwards, professor at Florida Institute of Technology, and Nicholas Browning, associate professor at Indiana University.

“The scope and urgency of what corporate responsibility and advocacy mean today made this an especially strong call,” said Holly Overton, Page Center research director. “These projects reflect the kind of research needed to better understand how organizations are navigating ethical communication in challenging and unpredictable situations.”

“One of the most rewarding parts of our Legacy Scholar program is watching projects that specifically address relevant issues take shape,” said Denise Bortree, Page Center director. “By supporting our scholars, we help build research that not only advances theory but also informs ethical practice in public communication today."

Since its founding in 2004, the Center has funded more than 350 scholars and awarded over $1 million in funding. While research themes vary from year to year, the Center consistently supports academic exploration into the understanding of principles practiced in public communication.

The 2026 Page/Johnson Legacy Scholar Grants

An empirical investigation of value‑driven messaging and language‑use strategies in organizational DEI stances
Alan Abitbol, University of Tampa, and Kelly Vibber, University of Dayton

Barriers to discussing neighborhood environmental justice differences
Mary Beth Deline, Illinois State University

Corporate political responsibility, political hostility, and the integrity threshold behind selective engagement and greenhushing
John Balabanis and Georgiana Grigore, University of Leicester

Costly signaling and CSR legitimacy in a polarized environment: the role of technology‑based verification in CSR campaigns
Yoon‑Joo Lee, Washington State University, and Huan Chen, University of Florida

DEI backlash, organizational cues, and legitimacy in a polarized society: a conflict engagement perspective contextualized in the United States
Yang Cheng, North Carolina State University, and Yi Ding, Beijing Normal University–Hong Kong Baptist University

Enhancing support and reducing backlash for corporate social advocacy through moral foundation framing
Xi Liu, Syracuse University; Jiacheng Huang, University of Minnesota; Moon Lee, Syracuse University; and Alvin Zhou, University of Minnesota

Framing responsibility: how inclusive vs. exclusive corporate social advocacy shapes public legitimacy and polarization perceptions
Keonyoung Park, Hong Kong Baptist University; Jeongwon Yang, University of Miami; and Mariyam Mohamed Manic, Hong Kong Baptist University

Inside the black box: understanding top PR managers’ DEI rollback decisions through the circuit of culture
Weiting Tao, Dongya Wang, Hui Shi, University of Miami; Cen “April” Yue, Boston University; and Jeongwon Yang, University of Miami

Polarized worlds, divergent duties: how sociopolitical polarization across Europe, the U.S., and Asia is reshaping corporate social responsibility communication — insights from practitioner interviews
Elina R. Tachkova, Hong Kong Baptist University

The accountability gap: moral typecasting and stakeholder evaluations of corporate course corrections in politicized contexts
Shupei Yuan, Northern Illinois University, and Haoran Chu, University of Florida

Unifying amid division: How organizations can design politically unifying advocacy campaigns in times of polarization
Carlina DiRusso, Brandon Boatwright, and Virginia Harrison, Clemson University