Annenberg Gives $100 Mil. To Schools

By: Joann Loviglio, Associated Press Writer (AP) Updated at 1:10 p.m. EST

Retired publishing magnate and philanthropist Walter Annenberg has pledged $100 million each to communication schools at the University of Southern California and the University of Pennsylvania, his foundation said Thursday.

The Annenberg School for Communication at both schools received $120 million endowments in 1994.

Penn will use the new endowment to pay full tuition for its graduate school students, among other things. At USC, the endowment will fund the new Center for the Study of Journalism and Democracy and help subsidize scholarships and three new faculty positions. Former San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News Publisher Jay Harris has been appointed the center's first director.

"This gift will ensure that the important work of the schools will continue into the next century and beyond," Annenberg's wife Leonore and daughter Wallis, president and vice president of The Annenberg Foundation, said in a statement.

Annenberg, who created Seventeen magazine and TV Guide and was ambassador to Great Britain during the Nixon administration, is listed by Forbes magazine as the world's 87th richest person with $4 billion.

On the Net:

University of Pennsylvania: http://www.asc.upenn.edu/asc

University of Southern California: http://ascweb.usc.edu

The Annenberg Foundation: http://www.whannenberg.org