Contact: Ralph Derickson

“Maria Braden gave so much to this school and its students. This scholarship fund is a tangible way of celebrating her spirit and a way to remind us all of her dedication to nurturing students’ talents and helping them meet and exceed their potential.”

- Beth Barnes,
director of the School of Journalism and Telecommunications

LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 3, 2004) -- A Maria Braden Endowed Scholarship Fund has been established, honoring a retired University of Kentucky journalism professor who died July 20.

Braden, who taught news reporting, magazine article writing, journalism ethics, public affairs reporting, media diversity and etymology, and other classes at UK for 21 years, took a medical retirement in 2001.

A native of New York City, Braden received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and philosophy from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

She worked 10 years as a reporter and editor for the Associated Press in Louisville, Lexington and Frankfort before joining UK as a faculty member in 1980. She also had been an employee of the National Newspaper Association and a reporter/editor for the Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette.

Braden authored or co-authored three media-related books, including a very popular book about women journalists titled “She Said What?: Interviews With Women Newspaper Columnists.”

Braden was the first woman promoted to full professor in the UK School of Journalism and Telecommunications. During her teaching career, she received an excellence in teaching award from the Poynter Institute for Media Studies. She was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame this year. The Hall of Fame is housed at UK .

The Maria Braden Endowed Scholarship will be offered to students who are pre-journalism majors or majors in journalism in the UK School of Journalism and Telecommunications. Donations to the fund may be made by credit card at http://iweb.uky.edu/giveonline.

“Maria Braden gave so much to this school and its students,” said Beth Barnes, director of the School of Journalism and Telecommunications. “This scholarship fund is a tangible way of celebrating her spirit and a way to remind us all of her dedication to nurturing students’ talents and helping them meet and exceed their potential.”

Barnes also said a Journalism Alumni Symposium scheduled at UK Monday, Oct. 4, focusing on the theme of successful women in journalism careers will be dedicated to the memory of Maria Braden.

Judith Clabes, chief executive officer of the Scripps Howard Foundation, will be the moderator for the symposium, which will include such panelists as Nancy Green, a former student publications adviser for the Kentucky Kernel from 1971 to 1982 who now works for Lee Enterprises, and many others.

For further information on the Maria Braden Scholarship or the Richard G. Wilson Alumni Speakers’ Symposium, contact Janice Birdwhistell, development officer, College of Communications and Information Studies, (859) 257-4241 or contact her by e-mail at jebird2@uky.edu.