From Our Archive
Feb. 19, 2001
Scripps Howard Foundation endows $1 million for Burleigh, Scripps professorship at Marquette
CINCINNATI -- The Scripps Howard Foundation has endowed $1 million to
establish the William R. Burleigh and E. W. Scripps
Professorship and the William R. Burleigh Media Ethics Program
at Marquette University.
The purpose of the endowment
is to establish and strengthen the study and practice of
ethics in the communications industry and to enrich the
academic and technical preparation of communications students
and faculty. The university will use the endowment to
partially fund the salary of a designated faculty member who
will be responsible for coordinating the curriculum and other
activities of the William R. Burleigh Media Ethics Program.
William R. Burleigh is chairman and the retired
president and chief executive officer of The E. W. Scripps
Company, which was founded by E. W. Scripps in 1878. Burleigh
also is a 1957 Marquette alumnus, earning a bachelor’s degree
in journalism. He was the university’s alumnus of the year in
1998. The Scripps Howard Foundation is the philanthropic arm
of The E. W. Scripps Company.
“This endowment furthers
a cause to which Bill Burleigh devoted much of his career,”
said Kenneth W. Lowe, president and CEO of Scripps. “The
foundation, as does Mr. Burleigh, believes firmly in fostering
ethical practices and high-minded values in the media today.
Marquette provides an excellent academic setting to seriously
address these important issues.”
Through the Burleigh
Media Ethics Program, communications industry professionals
will be invited throughout the academic year to the Marquette
campus in Milwaukee to speak on topics relevant to ethics in
the media. Also, a distinguished professional will be selected
annually as the Burleigh Lecturer to meet with students and
faculty and deliver a keynote address at an annual luncheon. A
symposium on media ethics will be held concurrent with the
lecture each year.
The program also will include
workshops on how to apply best practices and ethical values to
new media technologies.
William R. Elliott, dean of
Marquette’s College of Communication, said, “The William R.
Burleigh and E. W. Scripps Professorship will allow the
college to bring the people, ideas and vision together
following Bill Burleigh’s example of professional and ethical
behavior.” Elliott will be the university’s first William R.
Burleigh and E. W. Scripps Professor.
Dedicated to
excellence in journalism, the Scripps Howard Foundation is a
leader in industry efforts in journalism education,
scholarships, literacy, minority recruitment/development and
First Amendment causes.
Marquette is a Catholic Jesuit
university with an enrollment of about 11,000 graduate and
undergraduate students and 100,000 alumni worldwide.
Contact: Patty Cottingham, Scripps Howard Foundation, 513-977-3847, cottingham@scripps.com