February 22, 2010
Bowling Green, Ky. - Two attorneys known for their work with the media and defense of the First Amendment
have made a new commitment to support a scholars program in the School of Journalism & Broadcasting at Western Kentucky University.According to Dr. Pam Johnson, head of WKU’s School of Journalism & Broadcasting, Jon Fleischaker and Kim Greene of Louisville have made a $150,000 gift to enhance the existing Fleischaker-Greene Fund for Excellence in First Amendment Issues, which provides support for the Fleischaker-Greene Scholars. This gift will be matched by $150,000 from the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Regional University Excellence Trust Fund, providing a total impact of $300,000 for the fund.
Fleischaker and Greene made an initial gift of $250,000 to create the fund in 2007. The new gift and state match brings the total fund to $550,000.
“The Fleischaker-Greene Scholars program provides journalism students the opportunity to take an advanced special-topic class once a year,” Johnson said. “This class is taught at the junior/senior level and offers unique opportunities that include a field trip, speakers, a First Amendment module, a gallery exhibit and the development of a Web presentation. The course also places an emphasis on using First Amendment tools, such as open records laws. We are so grateful that Jon Fleischaker and Kim Greene have made this program possible at WKU.”
WKU President Gary Ransdell said this gift is one of 12 gifts totaling $2.439 million that WKU has received to be matched through the Regional University Excellence Trust Fund, commonly called “Bucks for Brains.”
“WKU has taken a proactive approach to securing the available matching funds,” Dr. Ransdell said. “These donors have leveraged their personal gifts to build critical endowments across key academic disciplines at the University. We are grateful to our General Assembly for such a program, and to the alumni and friends who have made gifts allowing us to strengthen the quality of our academic programs and utilize all of our matching money. We particularly appreciate this latest gift from Jon Fleischaker and Kim Greene, which will strengthen the important area of First Amendment Studies at WKU.”
Fleischaker and Greene are attorneys with the Louisville office of the law firm Dinsmore & Shohl LLP. Fleischaker specializes in media law and First Amendment cases and has more than 30 years of experience representing newspapers and broadcasters. He is chair of the firm’s Media Law Practice Group and is the managing partner for the Louisville office. He is the only non-journalist to be inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a graduate of Swarthmore College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Greene, who retired from practicing law in 2004, worked with numerous media organizations in her 24-year career, including the Courier-Journal, Landmark Community Newspapers and the Kentucky Press Association. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Duke University, a master’s degree from Queens College at City University of New York and her law degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law.
“We have both made our careers representing journalists in Kentucky, and we both believe journalism is a vital profession that needs to be strengthened and grown in Kentucky and elsewhere if our democracy is going to work,” Fleischaker said. “We wanted to do something in Kentucky, which is significant because neither of us went to school at WKU. We wanted to invest in WKU’s program. We thought journalism and photojournalism and everything connected to the school was the best in Kentucky, and we wanted to be connected to it and grow it.”
He said they were pleased to be able to enhance the program with this new gift. “We never thought of ourselves as giving a certain amount of money and being through,” he said. “We have tried to be active in our participation at WKU, and we are very excited about the program and the opportunity to help it grow. We’ve had some interaction with the students and are looking forward to having even more. We have been very pleased. We are impressed with the quality of people, as well as their academic quality and the quality of their work.”
Colleen Stewart, a 21-year-old junior from Covington, has been a Fleischaker-Greene Scholar for the past two years. Majoring in news/editorial journalism, she will graduate in May 2011. As part of this program, she has participated in many opportunities, from completing a detailed report on a Liberian refugee to traveling to India to take part in a WKU multimedia reporting team.
“The class has given me an opportunity to pursue the type of journalism I have always wanted to do,” she said. “I’ve gained important knowledge from other classes and from working for Student Publications, but the Fleischaker-Greene Scholars class is a whole different kind of journalism. The stories are part of a cohesive project. They are powerful. As a journalist, it has forced me to be persistent and creative. I’ve had so many doors slammed in my face. I’ve been yelled at over the phone. But it is a beautiful feeling to care so much about a story that you feel unstoppable. Doing so is exhausting, but so fulfilling.”
After graduation, Stewart plans to pursue a journalism job that will allow her to do in-depth investigative reporting and use a variety of media to tell her stories. Ultimately, she hopes to pursue a graduate degree and become a journalism professor.
Sara Shipley Hiles is a part-time faculty member in the School of Journalism & Broadcasting who teaches the Fleischaker-Greene Scholars course. “WKU already has one of the top journalism schools in the country. This program gives our students another opportunity to shine,” she said. “Not only have Jon and Kim been so generous financially, but they also have given their time and knowledge to advise the class on its work. Their expertise has been invaluable.”
Stewart agrees. “I can’t thank Jon Fleischaker and Kim Greene enough for funding this class and also for coming to class, in person, last semester,” she said. “Their passion for media and the First Amendment are alive. In funding it, they have given us students a rare opportunity to do this kind of work, but they have also brought attention to important issues in the community. They have enabled voices, and hopefully, fostered a better understanding amongst people in our community. On a personal level, I can’t imagine my life or career having not been able to take the class. I am infinitely grateful.”
Bucks for Brains Matches: $2.439 Million Allocated for WKU
$500,000 for Civil Engineering Professorship Larkin Ritter
$500,000 for Horticulture Professorship Confidential Donor
$500,000 for Honors College Professorship John and Jacque Jarve
$375,000 for Endowment for Research The Center for Special Needs Trust Administration
$164,000 for Scholarships Sylvia Middleton and Margie Bonds
$150,000 First Amendment Fund for Excellence Jon Fleischaker and Kim Greene
$150,000 for Pre-Med Scholarships Dr. Joe Zaydon ($100,000), Drs. Jack Glasser, Jann Aaron, and Jerry Gibbs ($50,000 collective gift)
$50,000 for Green Fund Valerie Brown ($10,000), Chase Bank ($40,000)
$50,000 for Allen County Economic Development Halton Company
More WKU news is available at http://www.wku.edu/news/index.html and at http://wkunews.wordpress.com/.
For more information, contact Tom Hiles, (270) 745-6208.
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Phone: (270)745-4295 - Fax: (270)7455387 - E-Mail: western@wku.edu