Office of Development
Staff   |  Contact   |  Home  
slice

   Alumni     |    Friends     |   Faculty/Staff    |    Parents     |   Students   |   Corporate/Foundations
navigation

About

Planning a Gift

Giving Opportunities

Stories

What's New



Give Now

Meet Our Gift Officer button

Send us a question

 

funds that provide support for public affairs reporting

PAR intern at the State House

General Funds

The Public Affairs Reporting Department has one targeted fund.  You can give as much or as little as you would like to this fund, and you can give online or by mail.

Public Affairs Reporting Fund Donate

This fund provides money for special opportunities or extraordinary needs.

  • Faculty and students can travel to a conference to present their research.
  • Faculty can take part in a special opportunity to update their skills.  Professors need to be aware of the latest developments in their field, so that they can pass this knowledge on to their students.
  • The department can purchase special equipment, test materials, resources, or training modules to help our students attain success and achieve their goals.

These activities and others like them enrich our students immeasurably, enhancing the education they receive at UIS—but we could not do any of them without the discretionary money given to this fund.

Scholarship Funds

The Public Affairs Reporting Department has eight targeted scholarship funds. 

Mary and Nelson Howarth Memorial Fund Donate

Nelson Howarth was a respected Springfield attorney and three-term mayor who was instrumental in convincing the Illinois General Assembly to establish the UIS (then Sangamon State University) campus in 1969.  He later taught a course in municipal law and administration at SSU.  The Mary and Nelson Howarth Memorial Scholarship was originally established by the family and friends in honor of his life and work.  In later years, his wife’s name was added by the family, who continue to support the scholarship through generous donations. Applicants for the scholarship must be in good academic standing with a major in Public Administration, Public Affairs Reporting (other than broadcast journalism), Environmental Studies, Political Science or History.

Public Affairs Reporting (PAR)--Armstrong Scholarship Donate

The Public Affairs Reporting (PAR) - Armstrong Scholarship was established in honor of James E. Armstrong, publisher of the Illinois State Journal and the Illinois State Register, predecessors of today’s State Journal-Register, from 1964 until his death four years later from a heart attack.  The award is given to PAR students demonstrating strong interest and potential in the field of government and political reporting. Applicants should be in good academic standing with no current evidence of academic probation.

Public Affairs Reporting (PAR)--Milton D. Friedland Communication Scholarship Donate

The Public Affairs Reporting (PAR) - Milton D. Friedland Communications Scholarship was established by family and friends to honor the memory of the founder and general manager of WICS-TV for over 30 years.  In addition to being a broadcast pioneer in central Illinois, Mr. Friedland, a long-time benefactor and friend of Sangamon State University/UIS, also served as one of its community relations Associates.

Public Affairs Reporting (PAR)--Steven B. Hahn Public Affairs Reporting Scholarship Donate

The Steven B. Hahn Reporting Scholarship was established in 2001 as a memorial to a former Statehouse correspondent for The State Journal-Register and United Press International (UPI). Applicants must be a PAR major in good academic standing.

Public Affairs Reporting (PAR)--Robert P Howard Scholarship Donate

The Public Affairs Reporting (PAR) – Robert P. Howard Scholarship was inaugurated in 1975 by SSU in honor of Chicago Tribune correspondent, Robert Howard.  Before his death in 1989, Mr. Howard had been Dean of the State Capitol Press Corps, endowed three PAR scholarships and authored the book: Illinois, a History of the Prairie State which is considered one of the most comprehensive state history publications available.

Public Affairs Reporting (PAR)--Illinois Legislative Correspondents Association (ILCA)/Miller & Heinecke Scholarship Donate

The Public Affairs Reporting (PAR) – Illinois Legislative Correspondents Association (ILCA)/Miller & Heinecke Scholarship was established in honor of the former PAR director, Bill Miller; and the former ILCA president and long-time Statehouse reporter, Burnell A. Heinecke.

Public Affairs Reporting (PAR)--Kenneth O'Brien Scholarship Donate

Kenneth O'Brien, a graduate of the PAR program, reported for the Chicago Tribune and at the time of his death the Joliet Harold News. An early graduate of the PAR program (1989), Ken spoke with pride about meeting Paul Simon. Upon his death at age 45, Ken's fellow PAR graduates collected gifts for a current-use scholarship. As gifts to this fund add up, the scholarship will again be awarded to a PAR student.

Public Affairs Reporting (PAR)--Douglas H. Pokorski Scholarship Donate

The Douglas H. Pokorski Scholarship was established in 1994 as a memorial to a veteran reporter for the State Journal-Register.  Mr. Pokorski was well-known for his reporting of historical topics, especially those involving Abraham Lincoln.

Public Affairs Reporting (PAR)--Thom M. Serafin Scholarship Donate

Students seeking to excel in the journalistic and politically rigorous field of public affairs reporting can benefit from the generous contribution of prominent Midwest political analyst and communications advisor, Thom Serafin.  As founder and CEO of Serafin & Associates, Inc., a communications team that provides strategic counseling on public relations initiatives, campaigns, and crisis and reputation management, Serafin has served as a strategist for some of the country’s most high-profile politicians. His distinguished career includes serving as press secretary for three U.S. Senate campaigns, a U.S. Presidential campaign, and on the Washington D.C. staff of U.S. senator, Alan Dixon. Serafin, who is a regular speaker on Chicago’s WGN, ABC, NBC and Fox networks, has also appeared on NBC’s Today Show.  He received his Master’s degree in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield (then Sangamon State University), under the direction of his long-time friend and mentor, Paul Simon.

Applicants for this scholarship must be graduate students enrolled in the Public Affairs Reporting program with the College of Public Affairs and Administration at UIS. Preference is given to graduates of Nazareth Academy in LaGrange Park, Illinois. In instances where there is no applicant from Nazareth Academy, the preference is given to students with a demonstrated financial need.

Public Affairs Reporting (PAR)--Robert C. Springer Capital Steps Scholarship Donate

Both Robert C. Springer and his wife, Barbara J. Hipsman Springer, earned a Public Affairs Reporting degree from UIS. This scholarship celebrates that achievement. It is awarded each year to a student in the PAR program. Your gifts will add to the award.

Public Affairs Reporting (PAR)--Valerie Wiener Award Donate

Valerie Wiener, a former state senator in Las Vegas, Nev., is both a political and business strategist. Besides serving in Nevada’s state legislature for ten years, she is also an internationally known author, a sought after speaker, and founder and CEO of her own communications firm, “Wiener Communications Group.”  Since 1990, Ms. Wiener has won 147 top communications awards at state, national, and international levels, and is listed in 36 “who’s who” national and international publications. The PAR: Valerie Wiener Award was established to assist an outstanding PAR major in their degree completion. All applicants must be in good academic standing with no pending probations.

Public Affairs Reporting (PAR)--Vu Nguyen Memorial Scholarship Fund Donate

Vu Nguyen, a reporter who earned his master’s degree in Public Affairs Reporting from UIS in 2008, died on May 19, 2009, from a heart attack.  The following statements are taken from an article published in the OC Register.

Vu Nguyen“If the measure of a man is the love of his family, the admiration by his friends, and the respect from his peers, then Vu Nguyen was a giant…. Nguyen worked at the Register from 2004 through 2006, covering Garden Grove and Westminster and writing about the county's vibrant Vietnamese community. He had also covered Irvine when he interned at the Register in 2002…. Uncovering corruption in politics and writing about injustices on the poor were his greatest motivations, his father said…. 'Vu died at the peak of his life,' said his mother, Thuy Nguyen. 'He was happily married, he loved his job so much and he had so many good friends. I'm glad this is how Vu will be remembered.'"

Your gifts to this fund will help build the scholarship fund given in memory of this young reporter.

For more information on the efforts of Vu's friends and fellow graduates to raise money for this scholarship, please go Remembering Vu, the website they have created in his memory.

Other Options

Not interested in any of the funds listed above? Then you can also create your own named fund—either a current use scholarship or an endowed scholarship—that targets the students you specify in the Public Affairs Reporting Department.  Use the links above to learn more about these scholarship opportunities.

As the principle donor of this new scholarship, you would get to name the fund and establish the selection criteria.

Questions?

Please use the link at the left to Send Us Your Question, or the Meet Our gift Officer link to contact Stacey Willenborg, who works on behalf of the College of Public Affairs and Administration.  You can also call our office directly.

We look forward to hearing from you!