$250,000 gift given to SMAD
By Kim Chi Ha, contributing writer
Posted on October 26, 2006

A $250,000 gift from the Rockingham Publishing Company represented by Sen. Harry F. Byrd Jr. and the Byrd family was presented to the Madison Century Campaign Friday at the Homecoming Gala. The gift is an expansion of the original Byrd/Mims scholarship for print journalism established in 1985.

Byrd was a former U.S. senator and Virginia newsman.  He served in the Virginia Senate from 1948 to 1965 and retired from the U.S. Senate in 1983. He was also editor of the Winchester Evening Star and publisher of the Daily News-Record from 1939 to 2001.

“In conjunction with the centennial campaign, we thought it was an appropriate time to renew the scholarship,” Peter Yates, the editor and general manager of the Daily News-Record, said. “And JMU has an outstanding program for students to further in print journalism.”

The gift will allow for four $2,500 annual print journalism scholarships to be awarded to two juniors and two seniors.

“We’d proposed an idea to create a scholarship in his name,” Weston Hatfield, associate vice president for development, said. “But he said he’d rather do something to add to the original scholarship he’s had to help kids with an interest in print journalism.”

Hatfield, who was responsible for drafting the original proposal, said the goal was to make the spending power of the scholarship the same and double the amount of awards.

When the scholarship was endowed in 1999, the number of recipients fell from eight to two, so they wanted to bring the scholarship back to the level that it was at when the scholarship first started in 1985.  Students were then awarded $750 each; they took that amount and figured out how much the equivalent would be today, establishing the new scholarships at $2,500 each.
 
The Madison Century Campaign is a six-year fundraising initiative which began July 1, 2002 and will end June 30, 2008 — JMU’s centennial year. The campaign’s goal is to raise $50 million for student support scholarships, faculty support and facilities, notably the Plecker Athletic Performance Center and the new Performing Arts Center.

“This is our first [campaign] at JMU; it is more than about money, the givers are a part of something,” Hatfield said.

The idea for the original Byrd/Mims scholarship was started by D. Lathan Mims, former editor and general manager of the DN-R, and SMAD professor Alan Neckowitz in the early 1980s. 

“I worked at the Daily News-Record for a couple [of] years,” Neckowitz said. “That’s how I got to know Lathan Mims, the former editor and general manager of the Daily News-Record.”

Mims wrote up the original proposal and wanted Byrd to have the scholarship in his name while Byrd wanted to honor Mims’ name.

The Rockingham Publishing Company has already given the campaign $110,000.  The last half will be given by 2011 and will eventually generate enough money through interest for  four $2,500 journalism scholarships every year.

“Being an out-of-state student, every little bit of money that I can get towards my tuition is a great help,” Hali Chiet, the 2006 recipient of the Byrd/Mims scholarship, said.
“While I do truly appreciate the monetary award, I feel even more honored to be recognized for my academic achievements and dedication to the field of journalism.”

The scholarships look for students who have a commitment to a career in print journalism, also taking into account academic achievement and financial need on a case by case basis.