RJI receives third largest gift in MU history
The Reynolds Journalism Institute received a $15 million gift from the Las Vegas-based Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. The gift is the third largest ever awarded to MU according to a MU news release.
"RJI is poised to be one of the leaders in defining what form journalism will take in the 21st Century and beyond," Donald W. Reynolds Foundation Chairman Fred W. Smith said in a news release.
The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation also awarded MU $31 million to establish RJI in 2004, the largest gift in the university’s history.
“Our original grant allowed the University of Missouri to provide a state-of-the-art physical home and establish the programs of the Institute,” Smith said. “This latest commitment will assure operation of the programs under the leadership of Dean Mills and Pam Johnson for another five years."
The dedication of RJI coincided with the Journalism School’s centennial celebration in September 2008 and Chancellor Brady Deaton said the institute has shown it’s potential in its first year of operation.
“This gift from the Reynolds Foundation makes it possible for us to pursue our dream of an institute that supports democracies around the world by developing and testing 21st Century models and technologies of journalism to serve civil society," Deaton said in a news release.