Disney Contributes $1 Million To Florida A&M University
The Walt Disney Company is committed to supporting students studying journalism. Disney contributes $1 million to Florida A&M University.
Disney Contributes $1 Million
The Orlando Sentinel shares that the contribution will be dispersed over a five-year period. “The grant establishes the Disney Storytellers Fund at the Tallahassee university as part of the company’s Future Storytellers Program.”
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
Money will go toward providing tuition and housing scholarships. It will also help with specialized programming, leadership development, and a stipend for select students at FAMU’s School of Journalism & Graphic Communication.
Florida A&M University
FAMU’s journalism school dean, Mira Lowe, shared that Disney’s contribution would be awarded to 15-20 “high potential” students per year. A&M University currently has about 500 journalism students.
Photo: Florida A&M University
In a statement, Lowe said, “Receiving this grant affirms the mission of our school to train students for an evolving media industry with an emphasis on experiential learning. The grant also upholds FAMU as an institution that offers exceptional student experiences.”
FAMU alumna and ABC News President Kimberly Godwin, announced Disney’s contribution during the school’s Homecoming Convocation. ABC and ESPN sports network are two major employers of journalists and Disney owns both of them.
Photo: Heidi Gutman/ABC
This is Disney’s first grant to FAMU. $200,000 will be disbursed annually over five years, equaling $1 million in total.
Jennifer Cohen, Disney’s executive vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility shared that the contribution, “will help empower the next generation of Black journalists, news and media executives while also building on the rich legacy of creativity and innovation that the University has cultivated for decades.”
Photo: Jennifer Cohen, Disney
According to the Orlando Sentinel, in 2019, 7.5% of journalists on salary “identified as African American or Black in the News Leaders Association’s Newsroom Diversity Survey.”
In response to Disney’s $1 million contribution to Florida A&M University, FAMU President Larry Robinson expresses, “I am tremendously grateful for this generous gift from the Disney Company and to have them as a key partner with us in changing lives, creating new opportunities, and producing tomorrow’s leaders.”
