Those who helped make it happen
It took a village to help the Chips Quinn Scholars Program grow from six students in 1991 to 1,020 alums in 2006. John Quinn introduced to Summer Scholars four "champions" who supported the program through the years: Madelyn Jennings, trustee of the Freedom Forum; Jerry Sass, retired senior vice president of the Freedom Forum; Dr. Felix Gutierrez, journalism professor at the University of Southern California and a trustee of the Freedom Forum's Diversity Institute; and Bob Dubill, retired executive editor of USA TODAY.
In 1991, Sass’ role was to help implement the new program. The first classes were selected and managed in a partnership with Howard University. The program began as a memorial to the late editor Chips Quinn. Sass encouraged students to acknowledge the “enormous good the Quinns did almost immediately under great tragedy. I hope you return the example they set for all of us.”
Sass said: "I have never said this publicly before, but the thoughts that were in my mind during John's call to me -- and guided me in the early years of the program -- came from the New Testament: In the Gospel of John, about the grain of wheat - 'unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies it produces much fruit' and then in Luke '... the seed that fell upon good ground and yielded fruit a hundredfold.' And yes, as I look around the room, not a hundredfold, but a thousandfold."
In the third year, the program expanded beyond Historically Black Colleges. The move, Gutierrez said, showed editors that they “will find good talent wherever they look for it.” He said the program “stands for the best that journalism can possibly be.”
Dubill was a journalism colleague of Chips Quinn, managing editor of the Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal at the time of his death. Dubill called Chips Quinn “the Pied Piper of Poughkeepsie” because the community liked and respected him and would follow his lead. Like Chips Quinn, Dubill said, Scholars can have an impact on their communities. “Every word you write … is going to make a difference in somebody’s life.” He encouraged them to “Be aggressive. Be decisive. Stay hungry.”
Chips Quinn was “a dreamer who avoided small dreams,” Jennings said, noting his “unrelenting passion for his profession.” She told Scholars: “You’re carrying a vision forward.”
In 1991, Sass’ role was to help implement the new program. The first classes were selected and managed in a partnership with Howard University. The program began as a memorial to the late editor Chips Quinn. Sass encouraged students to acknowledge the “enormous good the Quinns did almost immediately under great tragedy. I hope you return the example they set for all of us.”
Sass said: "I have never said this publicly before, but the thoughts that were in my mind during John's call to me -- and guided me in the early years of the program -- came from the New Testament: In the Gospel of John, about the grain of wheat - 'unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies it produces much fruit' and then in Luke '... the seed that fell upon good ground and yielded fruit a hundredfold.' And yes, as I look around the room, not a hundredfold, but a thousandfold."
In the third year, the program expanded beyond Historically Black Colleges. The move, Gutierrez said, showed editors that they “will find good talent wherever they look for it.” He said the program “stands for the best that journalism can possibly be.”
Dubill was a journalism colleague of Chips Quinn, managing editor of the Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal at the time of his death. Dubill called Chips Quinn “the Pied Piper of Poughkeepsie” because the community liked and respected him and would follow his lead. Like Chips Quinn, Dubill said, Scholars can have an impact on their communities. “Every word you write … is going to make a difference in somebody’s life.” He encouraged them to “Be aggressive. Be decisive. Stay hungry.”
Chips Quinn was “a dreamer who avoided small dreams,” Jennings said, noting his “unrelenting passion for his profession.” She told Scholars: “You’re carrying a vision forward.”
posted by Chips Quinn Scholars at 9:10 AM
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