August 26, 2020
Contact: Eric Stann, 573-882-3346, StannE@missouri.edu
Randall Smith is the founder of the Missouri Business Alert and the Donald W. Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism.
The University of Missouri School of Journalism has received a $3 million gift from an MU alumna to support an endowment to provide scholarships, paid internships and professional mentoring for journalism students at Missouri Business Alert, a business journalism publication housed in the MU School of Journalism.
“This generous gift will help one of the world’s oldest journalism schools continue to educate world-class students,” said Mun Choi, MU chancellor and UM System president. “Community support is what allows this institution to not only thrive but continue to innovate and create new opportunities for its students. Whether they go on to careers in print or online journalism, advocacy, marketing or any number of career paths, journalism students will benefit from this gift for years to come.”
The donor asked that her name be kept anonymous. David Kurpius, dean of the School of Journalism, said this gift will support the school’s critical mission.
“This endowment supports our critical mission of preparing the world’s best journalists to help citizens understand complex issues and make informed decisions,” Kurpius said. “We are grateful for the generosity of this alumna and other supporters of business journalism at the Missouri School of Journalism as these gifts help accelerate research and improvements throughout the industry.”
Randall Smith, founder of the Missouri Business Alert and the Donald W. Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism, said this gift will give the School of Journalism the tools to provide aspiring business journalists the necessary skills as they prepare to join the workforce.
“The Missouri School of Journalism is positioned to train tomorrow’s business journalists,” Smith said. “Between two endowed faculty chairs in business journalism, an existing hands-on business newsroom, the extensive use of the Missouri Method and a journalism program hailed as the best in the world, there is no better place for students to prepare for future careers in business news organizations across the globe.”
The Missouri Business Alert reports on entrepreneurial and business news from across the state of Missouri with a daily email newsletter, weekly podcast and other multimedia content. The news outlet also offers internships to MU journalism students majoring in areas such as strategic communication, business development and marketing. Upon graduation, alumni of the program have worked at various publications, including Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press and The New York Times.
Editor’s Note: For more on this story, please see: Missouri Business Alert, School of Journalism announce $3 million gift
