UNC’s journalism school announced the largest single gift in its history on Tuesday. A $25 million donation has led to the rebranding of the school and a reinforcement of the lessons its teaching students.

The gift from newspaper publisher Walter Hussman Jr. and his wife Ben led to a name-change from the UNC School of Media and Journalism to the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media.

Hussman, an alumnus of the journalism school in 1968, says he was driven to make the gift because his publications’ and personal values align with the school’s in a precarious era of journalism.

“It’s time for someone to really stand up for objectivity and lack of bias in news reporting and editing,” says Hussman. “It’s really resonating with people. We thought [this gift] would, but when you see it in actuality, it’s very impressive.”

Hussman is the publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and CEO of his own media company, which owns daily newspapers and cable television stations in Arkansas, Texas and Tennessee. For his papers, his instills core values of impartiality and credibility.

Dean of the school Susan King says Hussman’s commitment is a reinforcement of those values within the journalism school and serves as a signal to the broader journalism community.

“Every student who comes into our school learns the fundamental building block of information in America that’s kept us free: the first amendment rights of free speech in a democracy,” says King. “With Walter Hussman making an investment in us, he underscores the importance of that fundamental building block of every student’s experience here.”

Kings says she is honored Hussman has chosen to invest in UNC students and her school, seeing it as an optimistic gesture toward reverting journalism away from partisanship.

“I think Walter Hussman is making a statement,” she says, “that UNC is a center where information does make us free and is a university where students are learning how to lead the conversation in America that will make us stronger.”

Hussman says he is encouraged by the positive reaction he’s seen from the gift’s announcement. He says others should donate to journalism and publications they feel strongly about, and that there are ways to support fair journalism even without spending money.

“I think the way people can support [these values] is to speak out,” Hussman says. “They can use their social media accounts; they can write letters to their editors and say, ‘this is what we’re in favor of.’”

The $25 million gift to the Hussman School of Journalism and Media is undesignated. King says her initial plan is to use the funding to invest in faculty and opportunities for students. Hussman’s gift comes just less than a year since Don Curtis pledged a $21 million donation to different facets of the university, a part of which was the largest single gift to the journalism school at the time.

Related Stories
‹
In a Challenging Time, Raul Reis Takes Over As UNC Journalism School Dean
Raul Reis, the new dean of the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, discusses accreditation, journalistic principles, and more.
UNC Journalism School Holds Official Naming Ceremony
As Walter Hussman Jr. addressed the crowd at UNC’s journalism school naming ceremony on Friday, he shared his initial reservations when first approached with the idea of naming the school after him. He said he couldn’t help comparing himself and his family to other people with named journalism schools in the country. “I thought [about] […]
New UNC Humanities Scholarship Formed by $10 Million Gift
Stephen Israel, a UNC graduate in the Class of 1966, gifted $10 million to create a new undergraduate humanities scholarship.
2 UNC Hussman School Educators Named Journalism Committee Presidents
A pair of figures within the UNC Hussman School for Journalism and Media were each named presidents of journalism committees this week. Raul Reis, the school’s new dean, was named the president of the Association of Schools of Journalism & Mass Communication. Professor Deb Aikat was named the president of the Association for Education in […]
UNC Journalism School Acknowledges Diversity Shortcomings Amid Review
The UNC Hussman School of Journalism acknowledged it “has not met its own ideals for creating an environment of diversity and inclusion” on Tuesday, in an email statement from interim dean Heidi Hennink-Kaminski. The statement is a response to the school being downgraded to provisional accreditation status by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism […]
'1619 Project' Writer To Join UNC Journalism School Faculty
Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times investigative journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones will join the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s journalism school in July as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism. Hannah-Jones, who covers civil rights and racial justice for The New York Times Magazine, won the 2020 Pulitzer for commentary for an essay she wrote […]
UNC Historian, Author Earns 2025 Pulitzer for Book on Native American Communities
History professor and author Kathleen DuVal — who has taught and researched at the Chapel Hill campus since 2003 — saw her latest book, “Native Nations: A Millennium in North America," named a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for history.
UNC Grad's New Job Leads to Going Viral, Hanging With Simone Biles' Husband
Jasmine Baker, a recent alumna of the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, found her big break in an unexpected way at the Olympics.
UNC Researcher Details Pulitzer Prize Nomination, Story Revealing Blast Overpressure in Military
Daniel Johnson, who is at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, published a story on brain injuries suffered by artillery crews.
In the Fight for Democracy, UNC Professor Enlists Local Media
Against a rise of anti-democratic behavior, UNC's Shannon McGregor calls for "democracy-framed election coverage" by journalists.
›