Missouri J-School Gets $2 Million Grant For Endowed Biz Chair

By: Joe Strupp The University of Missouri School of Journalism has received a $2 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation to establish a new endowed chair in business journalism, the university revealed Thursday.

"The new chair will allow for the expansion of business journalism course offerings at the undergraduate, master?s and doctoral levels," the announcement states. "It will also provide for the development of course offerings for working professionals through Missouri?s online master?s programs."

The grant provides $2 million in an endowment to fund the chair in perpetuity and $206,500 for the 2009-2010 academic year.

?This endowed chair at the University of Missouri is part of a much larger initiative approved by our trustees and recently funded," Fred W. Smith, chairman of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, said in a statement. "Within that initiative, a network of Reynolds-funded institutions led by the Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at Arizona State University will collaborate to increase the presence of business journalism curriculum on university campuses while also providing strong training for midcareer journalists who realize their own need for a better understanding of financial and economic issues."

Donald W. Reynolds received his bachelor?s degree from the School in 1927, the announcement added.

"The new Reynolds Chair will work closely with the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, a world-class center for researching and testing new models of journalism," the release added. "The Institute has been funded by $32 million from the Reynolds Foundation."

Recruitment for the new chair will be conducted during the 2008-2009 academic year, with the chosen person taking over in fall 2009.