The White House Correspondents’ Association is pleased to announce the creation of a new scholarship at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas.
The recipient will be among the students honored by the WHCA at a luncheon next April and at the association’s annual dinner the next day.
“We are excited to have the University of Kansas as part of the growing roster of White House Correspondents’ Association scholarships,” said Jonathan Karl of ABC News, the president of the WHCA.
“Not long ago, the WHCA awarded a single scholarship at our annual dinner. We now award more than 30 scholarships every year, giving a boost to promising young scholars throughout the country, perhaps some future White House correspondents among them.”
Kansas is the 10th university around the United States where the WHCA sponsors scholarships for aspiring young journalists. It joins American University, Arizona State University, Columbia University, Howard University, Northwestern University, Ohio University, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Maryland and the University of Missouri.
The WHCA also honors independently financed scholarship recipients from George Washington University and Iowa State University.
All are assigned volunteer mentors for a year from among the veteran journalists of the White House press corps.
“The School of Journalism at KU is incredibly honored to institute this scholarship from the White House Correspondents’ Association and join the ranks of the other great schools already participating,” said Ann Brill, dean of the school. “KU has a long history of alumni covering the White House and we know that legacy will continue. We want to thank all the White House correspondents for their contributions to journalism education.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association Scholarship at the University of Kansas will be awarded annually to students who excel at media information management. The student winners will have reputations for accuracy in fact-checking and the ability to access databases, government documents, and personal sources. In addition, the students will excel at using methods of dissemination of information, including use of traditional and social media.
The scholarship at Kansas will be for $5,000 each year, with the WHCA contributing half and the school contributing half.
About the WHCA
The White House Correspondents’ Association exists to promote excellence in journalism as well as journalism education, and to ensure robust news coverage of the president and the presidency. We support awards for some of the best political reporting of the past year, and scholarships for young reporters who carry our hopes for vibrant journalism in the years to come. Each day, we work to ensure that the men and women who cover the White House have the ability to seek answers from powerful officials, up to and including the President.
About the University of Kansas
The William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications is the only named school at the University of Kansas. The Kansas Board of Regents named the School in 1945 to honor the Pulitzer Prize winning editor of the Emporia Gazette. Today the School serves nearly 1,000 students at the undergraduate and graduate level. Our mission is to teach students to think critically and creatively while preparing them for careers in journalism, mass communications and related fields and for graduate study. Our graduates are found everywhere from boardrooms to broadcast studios. Graduates are industry leaders in developing new media technologies as well as helping solve the world’s problems at MIT.