Philip Merrill College of Journalism | University of Maryland

Philip Merrill Gives $10 Million to Maryland College of Journalism; School Named in His Honor

For Immediate Release Feb. 9, 2001

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Philip Merrill, publisher and owner of The Capital daily newspaper in Annapolis and Washingtonian magazine, has made a $10 million gift to the University of Maryland College of Journalism, University President C. D. Mote, Jr., announced today. In recognition of the gift, the school will be renamed the Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

Mote said the gift will take the College to a new level of excellence. "Phil Merrill has a passion for excellent higher education and, most fortunately for us, he is truly excited about assisting our College of Journalism to achieve the highest national distinction among university journalism programs," Mote said. "For many years Phil and his wife, Ellie, have worked with us to improve the stature and quality of our College. Through this magnificent gift our achievements in graduate programs and professional contributions will lift the Philip Merrill College of Journalism to the ultimate echelon of journalism schools in this country."

Merrill said he is proud to be a part of the success of the College of Journalism. "In a world that's dominated in large measure by the communications revolution, sound journalistic values and capabilities are more important than ever. The purpose of this gift is to help the College of Journalism at the University of Maryland achieve its goal of being the very best in the nation."

Because Merrill wants the $10 million funding to have immediate impact, the multi-year gift is not an endowment but calls for the money to be spent over the next 15 to 18 years. It will be used in four major areas:

Three new chairs in journalism, and other faculty enhancements.
Graduate-level fellowships, assistantships and scholarships, and undergraduate scholarships, all to be named for Eleanor Merrill; and general student recruitment.
Upgrading the College's equipment and technology resources.
General marketing and outreach programs at the College.

"The main purpose of this funding is to assist the College in achieving national preeminence in the field of journalism, as quickly and with as much distinction as possible," said Journalism Dean Thomas Kunkel, who was appointed to that position last July. He succeeded Reese Cleghorn, who over 19 years as dean revamped the curriculum and built the College’s national reputation.

The funding commitment is also the leadoff gift in what the Merrill College of Journalism intends to be a major capital campaign. A primary aim of the $30 million capital campaign is to spur construction of a new, state-of-the-art journalism building, one spacious enough to house all its print, broadcast, online and professional development operations under one roof.

Founded as a department in 1945, the journalism program was elevated to a College in 1972. Eleanor Merrill, vice president of Capital-Gazette Communications Inc., parent company of Washingtonian city magazine and the 48,000-circulation Capital newspaper in Annapolis, was named to the College’s Board of Visitors when it was created by Dean Cleghorn in 1983. She has chaired the board since 1995.

The College, with 512 undergraduates and 65 master’s and PhD candidates, also publishes the national monthly magazine American Journalism Review, with Dean Kunkel as its president. The 21-member faculty includes newly appointed David Broder, Pulitzer-winning political reporter and syndicated columnist with the Washington Post; Prof. Haynes Johnson, former Pulitzer-winning Washington Post political reporter; Prof. Gene Roberts, former managing editor of the New York Times; and Prof. Lee Thornton, former CBS White House correspondent and CNN producer.

The Merrill College of Journalism operates several professional outreach programs, including the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism, the Casey Journalism Center for Children and Families and the Hubert H. Humphrey Journalism Fellows Program, and is home to the National Association of Black Journalists and the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors. The College operates Capital News Service, a daily news wire staffed by students at bureaus in Annapolis and Washington, D.C., that provides hundreds of news stories each year to newspapers across the region. The school also runs UMTV, the university’s cable TV station that reaches more than 400,000 households in suburban Washington.

Philip Merrill, 66, a Baltimore native and chairman of Capital-Gazette Communications Inc., is a graduate of Cornell University and the Harvard Business School’s Program for Management Development.

Backgound on Philip and Eleanor Merrill

Milestones in the College’s Development

For more information contact: Christopher Callahan (301) 405-2432