WASHINGTON, D.C. July 1, 2008—The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) has awarded more than $167,000 in scholarships to 25 students who are pursuing a career in journalism to attend a college or university.  NABJ’s scholarship program has expanded this year to provide almost double the number of scholarships to students through new initiatives and partnerships.

Last year was the first time General Electric Foundation (GE) and African American Forum (AAF) employees (under the Lloyd Trotter Scholarship Program), contributed to NABJ’s scholarship program, which increased the total number of awards. 
 Other new scholarship initiatives include the CUNY-NABJ Scholarship, a partnership between NABJ and The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism, to provide $7,500 to a NABJ member to enroll in CUNY's innovative, three-semester program leading to an M.A. in journalism.

In honor of Larry Whiteside, the first African-American beat sports writer for The Boston Globe, the NABJ Sports Task Force will award the first Larry Whiteside Scholarship this year.  The late sports-writing pioneer, who is being inducted into the 2008 National Baseball Hall of Fame, paved the way for journalists of color in a section of the industry that still struggles with diversity. 

NABJ President, Barbara Ciara explains, “With the cost of education rapidly rising, the scholarships will help these students get the necessary training and preparation they need in college.  As we continue to grow our scholarship program, it is our mission to assist in educating the next group of young students aspiring to become journalists.”

“NABJ is honored to have the opportunity to assist those who we hope will be the next crop of professional journalists,” said Demorris Lee, NABJ Student Education Enrichment and Development (S.E.E.D.) committee chair. “We had some excellent applicants and I hope that this monetary gesture in these tough economic times will help another student in their educational pursuit.”

The following students are recipients of this year’s NABJ Student Scholarships:

Allison E. Fisher Scholarship - $2,500
Angela Bass, Merritt College, Oakland, CA

Carole Simpson Scholarship - $2,500
Chardae Davis, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

CNN Scholarship - $25,000 (sustaining four-year award)
Rachel Archambeau, Druid Hills High School, Atlanta, GA
Eryn Rogers, Marist School, Atlanta, GA
Allison Knox, Kenwood Academy, Chicago, IL
Whitney Clayton, Streetsboro High School, Streetsboro, OH

CUNY Scholarship - $7,500
Tracy Chimming, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, New York, NY

Gerald Boyd Scholarship - $2,500
Shelia Ellis, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

Larry Whiteside Scholarship - $2,500
Lauren Harper, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA

NABJ Scholarship - $2,500
Brittney Johnson, University of California, Berkley, CA
Nicole Norfleet, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Isaac Elster, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
Jazmund Walker, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL
Adeola Oladele, Olivet College, Olivet, MI
Jasmine Wilcoxson, Wichita High School, Wichita, KS
Jaedda Armstrong, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA
Amanda Woodruff, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Alexandria Clark, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH
Sharise Darby, Hampton University, Hampton, VA

Newhouse Foundation Scholarship - $5,000
Lauren Foreman, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
Leezia Dhalla, Ronald Reagan High School, San Antonio, TX
Camaree Turman, Evanston Township High School, Evanston, IL
Adelle Hampton, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

Visual Task Force Scholarship - $2,500
Jarrad Henderson, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
Dana Oliver, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, New York, NY

The 2008 Scholarships are made possible in part by contributions from the Allison E. Fisher Memorial Fund, CNN, the Chicago Tribune Foundation, the Cox Foundation, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, General Electric African American Forum Lloyd Trotter Scholarship Program, NABJ Sports Task Force, NABJ Visual Task Force, the S.I. Newhouse Foundation, and individual contributions.

The 2008 class is the latest to benefit from the work of NABJ’s Student Education Enrichment and Development (SEED) Committee, which each year, helps support student members with internships and scholarships and the chance to cover the annual convention through student media projects.

For more information on the NABJ scholarships or to donate to the program, please visit www.nabj.org.