Nancy and Bob Maynard Diversity in Journalism Scholarship

How can we increase diversity in media and bolster the careers of more journalists of color nationwide, while at the same time ensure that news coverage delves into all segments of our communities?

One way is through education, and that’s why the University of Arizona School of Journalism is trying to raise $25,000 for an endowed scholarship for students interested in advancing the school's capacity to examine issues related to African Americans and/or supporting the success of the school's African American students.

The scholarship honors the late pioneering African American journalists Robert C. Maynard and his wife, Nancy, who had close ties to the UA School of Journalism through the Editing Program for Minority Journalists, which was held at the university for 20 years.

The Maynards bought The Oakland Tribune two years after Bob was named editor in 1979, becoming the first African Americans to own a major metropolitan newspaper. In 1977, the couple and seven other journalists co-founded the Institute for Journalism Education (IJE), dedicated to training journalists of color and improving minority representation in news media. Nancy Hicks Maynard was one of the first African American female reporters for The New York Times and later served as IJE president. In 1993, Bob died and IJE was renamed the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. Nancy died in 2008.

Please honor their legacy and help encourage more students to tackle newsroom – and societal – inequities by giving to the Nancy and Bob Maynard Diversity in Journalism Scholarship.

Nancy and Bob Maynard Scholarship Forum

Three journalists helped the school formally launch the Nancy and Bob Maynard Diversity in Journalism Scholarship on Oct. 6 with a webinar, "Truth-telling in a Time of Turbulence." UA Journalism alum Gilbert Bailon, editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, moderated a panel that included award-winning Roll Call columnist Mary C. Curtis and Kevin Merida, editor-in-chief of “The Undefeated,” ESPN’s media platform that explores the intersections of sports, race and culture. 

• A video of the forum is at https://youtu.be/fW4_SaBORGs.