A generous gift from the Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation will establish a new endowed scholarship at the Newhouse School.
The scholarship will support undergraduate students who have financial need, with preference given to rising juniors and seniors studying film, television or other areas of media and communications.
“The Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation has a long history of supporting students with an interest in visual communication,” says Mark J. Lodato, dean of the Newhouse School. “This new scholarship will help with the growing need to assist students facing unexpected financial challenges in completing their degrees.”
The gift, the latest in support of Forever Orange: The Campaign for Syracuse University’s $1.5 billion goal, will create the Diana King Memorial Scholarship Fund in memory of the foundation’s founder and longtime president and chair, who passed away last year. Diana King was an outstanding philanthropist, recognized for her commitment to educational opportunities in television, film and other media.
Since 1990, the King Family Foundation has granted scholarships to undergraduate students with a focus in film, television and related media and communications studies. To streamline operations, the foundation is providing gifts to schools, like Newhouse, from which the largest number of scholarship recipients have historically been found, according to foundation staff.
About Diana King
Diana King was the daughter of the late Lucille and Charles King, and grew up in the world of television. Her father founded King World Productions in 1964. It became the country’s leading distributor of television syndicated programming, including such iconic series as “The Little Rascals,” “Wheel of Fortune,” “Jeopardy!,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Inside Edition” and “Dr. Phil.”
Diana King began working in the accounting department of the family business in 1972, and at the time of King World’s acquisition by the CBS Corporation in 2000, served as executive vice president, corporate secretary and director.
She established the foundation in 1988 to support individuals and organizations committed to educational excellence and professional development, particularly in film, television and other media. During her 30-year tenure as board chair and president, the foundation awarded hundreds of scholarships to students at colleges and universities around the country, in many instances to individuals who would have been financially unable to continue their studies without this assistance. In addition, the Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation has acted as a longtime sponsor of programs at several leading cultural and educational institutions.
Also of Interest
Newhouse’s television, radio and film program gives students the skills to be part of the creative, management and production processes of the television, radio, film and online entertainment industries.