Apply for 2025-26 here
The form to apply for Student Publications scholarships for the 2024-25 academic year is below. The application deadline is Friday, March 14.
Our scholarships are restricted to students currently working at Student Publications and committed to working at Student Publications during the full term of any scholarship awarded.
To qualify, you must be a current staff member of Talisman, College Heights Herald, Student Publications Advertising and/or Cherry Creative.
We have 12 endowed scholarships, housed in the College Heights Foundation, for which you may apply if you meet the qualifications for the scholarship. Those are:
Robert R. Adams Journalism Scholarship
One award of $1,800 to a student working on the College Heights Herald. Awarded based on scholarship, leadership, involvement, demonstration of aptitude and attitude and work in Student Publications. Financial need may be considered.
Robert R. Adams – or Mr. A to thousands of alumni – advised the College Heights Herald for nearly half a century and was director of WKU Student Publications from 1988 until his retirement in 2012. Mr. A is known not only for his long service but also for the national reputation for excellence that Student Publications built under his stewardship. He also is known for quiet leadership, an approach of making things work, being an optimist, caring about people, being involved in making Student Pubs a better place, a can-do attitude. For Herald students.
Bryan Leigh Armstrong Memorial Scholarship
One award of $400 to a junior or senior journalism major with an interest in pursuing a journalism career and showing leadership, scholarship, character, aptitude and good attitude while serving on any staff at Student Publications.
Mr. Armstrong was Herald editor in 1979 who went on to work for the Tampa Times, the Louisville Times, the Kansas City Star and The Cincinnati Post. He later worked in state government and was the first director of public relations for the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. He died in 2004 after being diagnosed with a terminal illness. The trust endowing the award calls for the recipient to be a junior or senior journalism major who is interested in pursuing a journalism career and showing leadership, character, aptitude and attitude as a member of the Herald staff, as well as a demonstrated interest and affinity for WKU. For Herald students.
James D. Ausenbaugh Scholarship
One award of $800 to a student working on the Talisman or the College Heights Herald who is enrolled full time and can demonstrate knowledge, passion and appreciation for the English language. Financial need may be considered.
During his tenure, many students viewed James D. Ausenbaugh as the toughest teacher they encountered at WKU, and perhaps the best. “Aus,” as he was known, loved the English language and was a precise and exacting editor. He died in 2017. As the description says, the key to this scholarship is being able to demonstrate a knowledge, passion and appreciation for the English language. That should be the focus of this statement. And make sure you check for AP Style, grammar, spelling and word-usage. For all Student Publications students.
Donald E. Collins Scholarship
One or multiple awards totaling $3,400 available exclusively to students working on the College Heights Herald who are enrolled full time. Awarded based upon scholarship, leadership, involvement and demonstrated aptitude and attitude. Financial need may be considered.
Don Collins worked his way through school and was someone who always found ways to get things done, never relying on excuses. He was a sports journalist who used hard work to rise to key editing positions at USA Today before he passed away in 2010. How do you reflect those characteristics? For Herald students.
Mike Collins Memorial Scholarship
One award of $400 available to any student at WKU Student Publications, with a preference for students with an interest in visual journalism. Awarded based upon scholarship, leadership, involvement and demonstrated aptitude and attitude. Financial need may be considered.
Mike Collins worked on the College Heights Herald and the Talisman as a WKU student, graduating in 1984. He then worked for several news organizations, but built a career writing and photographing stories about aviation for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Mike died in February 2021 during the global coronavirus pandemic and his college friends launched an effort to create this scholarship in his name. For all Student Publications students.
Judith Koch Ecker Memorial Scholarship
One award of $1,000 to any student at WKU Student Publications who is enrolled full time. Awarded based upon character, integrity, dependability, industriousness and human compassion. Financial need may be considered.
Judith Koch Ecker was editor of the College Heights Herald in 1954-55. She went on the teach journalism students at Western and created some of the first classes requiring use of a professional 35mm camera, a move that would evolve into the world renowned WKU photojournalism program. Judy left WKU in 1967 but her heart always remained on the Hill. After she died in 2012, her family endowed this scholarship honoring the role she played in the journalism and photojournalism programs and her love for the Herald. For all Student Publications students.
Miss Frances Richards Journalism Scholarship
One or multiple awards totaling $2,100 for a news/editorial, advertising or photojournalism major. Awarded based upon scholarship, leadership, involvement and demonstrated aptitude and attitude and work in Student Publications.
Miss Frances Richards was the founding editor of the College Heights Herald, and went on to be the newspaper’s adviser until her retirement from Western Kentucky State College in 1964. She is someone who lived and breathed for the Herald, and established the newspaper as an important voice on the Hill. How do you reflect those characteristics? For all Student Publications students.
Paul and Ellen Schuhmann Student Publications Scholarship
One or multiple awards totaling $6,400 for news/editorial or photojournalism majors who work on the College Heights Herald or the Talisman and who are juniors or seniors with a grade-point average of at least 2.8. Awarded based upon scholarship, leadership, involvement and demonstrated aptitude and attitude. Recipients must agree to continue working for Student Publications for one year after selection.
Paul and Ellen Schuhmann met while working at WKU Student Publications, married, had a family and built successful careers in journalism and public relations. Ellen died of Alzheimer’s Disease in 2009, and Paul established the endowment that supports this scholarship as well as a fellowship at The Courier Journal, where he worked. The Schuhmann awards look for students who are exceptionally well-rounded — involved in productive ways at Student Publications, doing well in the classroom (minimum 2.8 GPA), demonstrating leadership and having a great attitude while striving for excellence. Showing how you do those things would be a good focus for this statement. For all Student Publications students.
Lowell L. and Opal F. Valentine Scholarship
One or more awards totaling $1,500 to a student working on the College Heights Herald who is enrolled full time and demonstrate personal qualities of character, integrity, dependability, industriousness, human compassion and leadership.
Lowell Valentine was the longtime publisher of the Franklin Favorite, the weekly newspaper in Simpson County where the Herald was printed for many years. The scholarship in the name of Valentine and his wife seeks a student who can demonstrate good character, dependability, industriousness, human compassion and leadership. Focus your statement on those points. For Herald students.
Elliott Wells Memorial Scholarship in Sports Journalism
One award of $400 for a student of any major who has a demonstrated interest in sports journalism in any format. Awarded based upon scholarship, leadership, involvement and a demonstrated interest in sports journalism as well as Student Publications.
Elliott Wells was a senior form Owensboro when he died unexpectedly at his parents’ home in December 2020. Wells had a strong interest in sports journalism and covered soccer and men’s basketball as a Herald reporter. He was known for dedication to getting a strong story, for his collegiality and his sense of humor. This scholarship was created in his memory by four of his colleagues who recently graduated — Evan Heichelbech, Jeremy Chisenhall, Matt Stahl and Drake Kizer. For all Student Publications students.
David B. Whitaker Scholarship
One award of $1,300 for a junior or senior advertising, news/editorial or photojournalism major. Awarded based upon scholarship, leadership, involvement and demonstrated aptitude and attitude and work in Student Publications.
David B. Whitaker, known as “Boss,” was the founder and leader of Student Publications who professionalised WKU’s journalism program. A former editor at The Courier-Journal and the Daily News, Boss was effective in establishing the independence and professional standards that guide Student Publications to this day. Your efforts as an active and involved leader among your peers to reinforce professionalism would be a good trait to concentrate on for this statement. For all Student Publications students.
*All amounts are subject to final approval by the College Heights Foundation, which sets spending policy for scholarship endowments. The amounts listed are the most recent estimates available.
For each scholarship you seek, you must provide a statement — there are no length requirements, so you can feel free to keep it short — spelling out how you meet the criteria for that scholarship. It’s best not to simply cut and paste the same statement for every scholarship you seek; tailor it to the requirements of the award.
In addition to the 11 scholarships listed above (some of which may be split into multiple awards), we also have the Red O’Donnell Award and Scholarship, in which the professional staff chooses the outstanding staffer at Student Publications who is returning for the coming academic year. There is no application.
All of these scholarships are funded by alumni and friends of WKU Student Publications.