FIU Journalism Students Gain Scholarships, Washington Bureau Spots With $1 Million Gift

Florida International University journalism students will get scholarships and slots in the school's Washington bureau under a $1 million donation announced October 30 at a Miami ceremony. The Ansin Foundation, the Channel 7 Foundation and the Channel 18 Foundation pledged the money to the Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media.

Dean Brian Schriner said the money reaches students now. "The money is going to impact our students immediately, and the funds will help our students through scholarships to be able to participate in our Washington bureau, to enhance our local news coverage and to enhance our faculty," he said. The school offers undergraduate and graduate courses in journalism, broadcasting, and digital and interactive media.

The ceremony also recognized Manny Garcia, who was tapped last year as the first executive director of the Lee Caplin School under a Knight Foundation appointment. Garcia has won two Pulitzer Prizes for investigative journalism. He said the funding will keep mentors at work with students entering the field. "This gift, it's a legacy gift because what it's doing is helping to support the next generations of journalists who are going to go out there and carry the torch forward," he said.

The Ansin Foundation dates to 1957, when the late Ed Ansin, co-founder of Sunbeam Television and owner of WSVN and ABC Miami, established it. Ed Ansin's sons Andrew and James later set up the Channel 7 Foundation and Channel 18 Foundation.