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Foundation creates John H. Houvouras Scholarship

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Publisher and Marshall University alumnus Jack Houvouras has established an undergraduate scholarship at the university. The John H. Houvouras Scholarship for Journalism was designed to assist aspiring journalists from West Virginia.

Houvouras is a 1988 graduate of Marshall and former editor of the student newspaper, The Parthenon. In 1989 he founded H.Q. Publishing Co. and released his first magazine –Huntington Quarterly. Today his company oversees the publication of six magazines that cover such topics as education, health care and the law.

“Because of the outstanding education I received at the School of Journalism, I was able to launch my first magazine just one year after graduating,” Houvouras said.

An active member of the Huntington community, Houvouras has served as the summer games director of the West Virginia Special Olympics, president of the Marshall University School of Journalism Alumni Association and president of the board of Little Victories Animal Rescue. He also is a graduate of Leadership West Virginia, a past recipient of the West Virginia Small Business Administration’s “Young Entrepreneur of the Year” award and was named a “Business Innovator of the Year” by The Herald-Dispatch.

“For me, there has never been a better time to start a journalism scholarship,” Houvouras said. “Today, the news media are under attack in America. Journalists are being called the ‘enemy of the people’ and their reporting is being labeled as ‘fake news.’ This concerns me greatly. People need to be reminded that a free press is essential to democracy. It is the final watchdog in our brilliant system of checks and balances.”

While Houvouras noted that he does not work in the world of hard news journalism, he has tremendous respect for the men and women who do.

“The people I studied with in college were honorable, hard-working individuals who constantly searched for the truth,” he said. “I believe that a career in journalism is a very noble calling. Marshall has a proud tradition of producing some of the best journalists in the nation. If I can play a role in continuing that tradition, then I want to do my part.”

For information regarding the John H. Houvouras Scholarship for Journalism, please contact the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Contact: Megan Archer, University Relations Specialist, 304-696-3916, archer15@marshall.edu

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