Indiana University School of Journalism » Donor Spotlight

School supporter Melzer dies

SoJ Web Report — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:05:21 +0000

Photo by Gina Ferazzi

Leo Melzer

Leo Melzer, a supporter of the School of Journalism, died Nov. 27 in Santa Monica. He was 96.

Melzer, BS’40, had established three gifts to the School of Journalism in honor of his friend, Tom Miller, BA’40, who was sportswriter and sports information director at IU; his mentor, Tom Buck, BA’39, who was an editor-in-chief of the IDS, a reporter, a press agent for the mayor of Chicago and a teacher of journalism; and his brother, Joseph L. Melzer.

“I visited Leo each time I was in California, and he was such a terrific person,” said Dean Brad Hamm, who first met Melzer in 2007.

A native of Gary, Melzer worked at the IDS during his college years and, after graduating, pursued a news career. His plans were interrupted by active duty in the U.S. Air Force in Burma during World War II.

“Leo joked that he was the only person serving in World War II who did not meet Ernie Pyle,” Hamm said.

Melzer worked for the City News Bureau in Chicago, United Press International and the Los Angeles Mirror. He then joined the foreign service of the U.S. Information Agency and served as information officer in Seoul, Korea, and Dusseldorf, Germany.

Later in life, he volunteered as a docent at the Will Rogers State Historic Park in California, where he entertained visitors with stories about the cowboy-turned-actor-turned-reporter who was a household name in first three decades of the 20th century. Melzer, then a Civilian Conservation Corps volunteer, met Rogers at a tree planting ceremony near Lake Tahoe in the early 1930s.

Learn more about Melzer’s gifts to the school.

School supporter Jane Howard Perkins dies

SoJ Web Report — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:39:23 +0000

Courtesy Scripps Howard Foundation

Jane Howard Perkins, 98, daughter of Roy W. Howard and School of Journalism supporter, died Oct. 13 in New York City.

The school has close ties to Roy W. Howard, who led Scripps Howard Newspapers from 1922-1953. The Scripps Howard Foundation and the Howard family have supported the school in many ways, including establishing the first endowed chair ever awarded in the school, held by professor David Weaver; funding the Roy W. Howard Scholarship; and funding the Scripps Howard Foundation Digital Imaging Lab at Ernie Pyle Hall.

“She was a strong supporter of the foundation,” said Sue Porter, vice president of programs for the Scripps Howard Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Scripps Howard company. “She was a very gracious lady who preferred to be involved quietly. We are so grateful for her support.”

The school also works closely with the foundation on the Roy W. Howard National Intercollegiate Reporting Competition, which includes an international trip led by School of Journalism dean Brad Hamm. Ernie Pyle Hall also is home to the Roy W. Howard archives, a collection of Howard’s correspondence often used by journalism researchers.

“She was a gracious and knowledgeable person who was an accomplished archaelologist, journalist and world traveler,” said Weaver. Perkins studied archaeology at Radcliffe and participated in early excavations at Chichen Itza.

“Along with her brother, Jack, and the Scripps Howard Foundation, she was instrumental in establishing the Roy W. Howard Archive and Professorship here in the mid-1980s," he continued. "She and her niece, Pamela, faithfully attended all of the early Roy W. Howard lectures here in Bloomington, and it was always a pleasure to spend time with them.”

Roy W. Howard's ties to IU are based in his Indiana boyhood years. Born in Ohio, he and his family moved Indianapolis when he was a boy. He delivered the Indianapolis newspaper and, by high school age, was selling his own stories to area publications. Even while leading United Press and, later, his own company, Roy W. Howard never lost his love of reporting. In addition to being an innovator in the industry, he traveled often to Asia and, in 1933, obtained an interview with Emperor Hirohito, the first ever granted an American newspaperman.

Like her father, Perkins also reported from Asia. Working for the Honolulu Advertiser in the late 1930s, she traveled to the Far East on Pan Am's maiden trans-Pacific clipper flight, where she interviewed Mme. Chang Kai-Shek and gave an eyewitness account of the Japanese bombing of China, according to her obituary in the New York Times.

Perkins lived in Italy many years with her husband, Cy, who preceded her in death. Survivors include three children; several grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and niece Pamela Howard and nephew Michael B. Howard.

More:

Read the New York Times obituary.
Learn about the School of Journalism’s ties to Roy W. Howard.
Visit the Scripps Howard Foundation website to learn about programs it supports.

Wood’s legacy supports international study

SoJ Web Report — Mon, 09 May 2011 14:17:48 +0000

When professor Beth Wood died in November 2009 from complications of treatment for lung cancer, she left many legacies. One legacy is the hundreds of public relations students who loved her energetic teaching style. Another legacy is the Beth Wood Award, which supports an international study experience for a journalism major.

Twelve years ago, Wood set up the award as an estate gift to support students with financial need and a record of academic excellence.

“The award gives us the ability to support students who might not otherwise be able to go abroad,” said Dean Brad Hamm.

Wood, 58, taught public relations at the graduate and undergraduate levels and was a leader in service-learning classes in the School of Journalism that assisted many area nonprofits. She was a two-time winner of the Trustees Teaching Award in the School of Journalism. Wood was a 1973 graduate of the IU School of Journalism and earned her law degree from the IU School of Law in Indianapolis in 1977. She joined the School of Journalism faculty in 2002.

Gifts such as Wood’s can change the life of a young person, particularly someone who has never had the opportunity to be immersed in another culture, Hamm said.

“When we connect our students to the larger world, we allow them to learn about journalism and culture, about history and politics, about global and local issues” he said. “And we hope it will change their lives.”

Melzer gifts honor friends, mentors, family

SoJ Web Report — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:30:18 +0000

Courtesy Gina Ferazzi

Leo Melzer, BS'40, honored two friends and his brother with three recent gifts to the school.

Leo Melzer, BS’40, recently gave three gifts to the School of Journalism.

The first is in memory of his friend Tom Miller, BA’40, former sportswriter and sports information director at IU. The second gift is in memory of Melzer’s mentor, Tom Buck, BA’39, who was an editor-in-chief of the IDS, a reporter, a press agent for the mayor of Chicago and a teacher of journalism. Melzer recently established his third gift, an endowed scholarship for journalism students in need of assistance, in memory of his older brother, Joseph L. Melzer.

The Miller fund will support faculty, student and staff development, including bringing speakers to campus, recognizing students through events, covering educational travel expenses and promoting special programs. The Buck fund will support three annual awards for undergraduate students in the School of Journalism who have written the best stories published in the Indiana Daily Student during the preceding academic year.

Melzer, who studied business journalism at IU and served as associate night editor of the IDS, is a docent at the Will Rogers Historic State Park in Pacific Palisades, Calif. After graduation from IU, he worked for the City Bureau in Chicago; the Evanston News Service in Evanston, Ill.; the United Press; the International News Service; and the Los Angeles Mirror.

His journalism career was interrupted by active duty in the U.S. Air Force in Burma (now Myanmar) during World War II, and he was later recalled to active duty during the Korean conflict.

Melzer spent many years employed by the federal government as an information specialist, and he continued to serve his country in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. Upon his retirement from the Reserves, he had earned the rank of lieutenant colonel. He lives in Santa Monica, Calif.

Pearlman gift honors family’s support of education

SoJ Web Report — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:27:51 +0000

Courtesy photo

From left, Fran Pearlman, Sarah Hutchins, Donn Pearlman and (back) Russell Pearlman met at the last scholarship ceremony. Russell Pearlman set up a scholarship in his parents' names, and Hutchins is the first recipient.

Russell Pearlman had a big surprise in hand for his parents when he took them out to dinner for their 40th wedding anniversary. Through a gift to the IU School of Journalism, he created the Fran and Donn Pearlman Scholarship to honor his parents.

“I put a letter from Dean Hamm announcing the scholarship in a diploma cover,” Pearlman recounted. “After dinner I gave them the diploma cover and my mom was like ‘Why are you giving us your college diploma?’ Then they read the letter. They were thrilled.”

"Education has always been so important to my folks,” said Pearlman, BAJ’95, MBA’00. “They always told me that I can study anything, but that whatever it is that I needed to study hard. So starting a scholarship at Indiana in their name was a no-brainer. I liked the idea of helping students go abroad and broaden their horizons, so the new journalism international programs seemed like an ideal fit."

Pearlman’s parents flew in from Las Vegas and Russell flew in from New York to meet the first winner at the school’s spring scholarship ceremony. The scholarship is awarded to a student who is an Ernie Pyle Scholar with a minimum GPA of 3.2 and an interest in study abroad programs.

“Attending the ceremonies in April to personally meet the first recipient, Sarah Hutchins, as well as other scholarship winners and faculty members certainly reinforced our already strong opinion about the excellence of the IU School of Journalism,” Donn Pearlman said. “It also brought back happy memories of previous visits to the campus.

The younger Pearlman is senior markets editor at SmartMoney Magazine, where he writes and edits stories about investing. He is a frequent commentator on CNBC, CNN, Fox and MSNBC, where he talks about the economy and the financial news of the day.

Guback supports aspiring journalists

SoJ Web Report — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:23:43 +0000

Photo courtesy IU Foundation

Steve Guback not only made a gift through the Matching the Promise campaign, but also met with a student who benefited from that donation.

Story and photos courtesy IU Foundation.

Look deeply into every gift to Indiana University, and you’ll see people connecting, creating links, perhaps forming friendships that will last a lifetime.

Take, for example, Steve Guback. In September, this IU alum (BS’50) met with staff from the Indiana Daily Student. Along with his wife, Renie, who passed away in March, Steve had made a gift through the Matching the Promise campaign to the IU School of Journalism. The couple’s goal was to support aspiring journalists like IU alumnus Matt Dollinger.

When Steve and Matt met, their connection was immediate. And it didn’t hurt that both are sports writers: one a veteran, the other aspiring. Here’s a bit of the conversation that ensued.

Steve Guback: So how was your experience this summer? You were in New York interning with Sports Illustrated?

Matt Dollinger: Right. It was great. I’d never been to Manhattan before. Being in New York City—well, it’s pretty different from being in Bloomington.

Steve: It can be challenging and daunting, I know. But it can also be a lot of fun.

Matt: That’s right. You feel like you are at the center of the world. You look out the window, and something amazing is happening right there.

Steve: One of my favorite memories was taking the subway to 161st Street. You could see Yankee Stadium from the train just coming up on you.

Matt: Yeah! We were there, at the old one, and we had seats for a game in the upper deck. But for the last inning, we snuck down to the lower level. It was crazy. And then they played Sinatra’s “New York, New York” at the end of the game. I got goose bumps. You know, they’re building a new stadium right across the street.

Steve: Well, there’s so much history in that place. I covered the so-called “Greatest Game Ever Played” between the Baltimore Colts and the NY Giants there. In those days, you wanted to get to the locker room after a game as soon as you could.

Matt: That had to be hard with the crowd and all that excitement.

Photo courtesy of IU Foundation

Steve Guback with IU student Matt Dollinger, right, whose internship was supported by a scholarship funded by Guback's donation.

Steve: Exactly. So, I started going down the stands and through the crowd before the whistle. And then Steve Myra kicks a field goal to send the game into overtime. I really had to fight hard to get back to the game.

Matt: Did you ever cover any boxing in Yankee Stadium? I always wish boxing was still in its Golden Age. These days…

Steve: Yeah, you used to be able to recognize everybody. Now, you have all these sub-weights, and you can’t tell who anybody is.

Matt: Exactly! I mean, who’s the champ these days? It’s really hard to figure out.

Steve: When I was a reporter in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, I talked the newspaper into letting me spend three extra days in the New York area. I wanted to do a series on heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano. So I went up to the Catskills to his training camp. His manager told me Rocky boxes six days a week and wasn’t there. I had to be back home the next day, so he called Rocky, and the champ agreed to meet me halfway. I think we met at the intersection of State Roads 64 and 98. We got out of our cars and sat in the grass and did the interview. Anybody who would do that for me is number one in my book.

Matt: That’s amazing.

Steve: Journalism is a great life. You have these unforgettable experiences. It can be hard, but you really get to see a lot. You know, I almost didn’t go to IU. I was from Connecticut, and I didn’t think I could apply. But when I got here, I knew this was the place for me. And look at what it gave me.

Matt: Well, I’m glad you went to school here. I’m glad you’re back here now.

Feldman gift supports travel

SoJ Web Report — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:12:03 +0000

Courtesy photo

Jessica Feldman, BA'54, was the first to support Journalism Experiences with a gift.

Jessica Feldman, BA’54, made the first charitable gift annuity to benefit the School of Journalism’s Journalism Experiences program, which supports travel and other outside-the-classroom activities.

Feldman grew up in Goshen, Ind., where she was editor of her junior and senior high school newspapers. She said that when her first choice of college, Northwestern University, did not pan out, “I chose Indiana and have always been very pleased with that choice.”

Feldman worked at the Chicago Tribune as an editorial research assistant before moving to an advertising agency.

After many years spent raising a family and volunteering, including producing newsletters for several public schools and co-editing a 1960s edition of This is Evanston for the League of Women Voters, Feldman returned to school, earning a Masters of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Returning home, she went to work for the City of Chicago, retiring in 2002 as the managing deputy commissioner of the Department of Environment.

Indiana University School of Journalism » Donor Spotlight

School supporter Melzer dies

School supporter Jane Howard Perkins dies

Related

Wood’s legacy supports international study

Melzer gifts honor friends, mentors, family

Pearlman gift honors family’s support of education

Guback supports aspiring journalists

Feldman gift supports travel