Criteria

This award is intended to recruit and recognize students in good academic standing (G.P.A. of 3.0 or above) with demonstrated financial need who are majoring in the Public Relations or Journalism sequences of the Edward R. Murrow [School] of Communication.

History

The Thomas E. and Karen A. Hunt Scholarship in Communication was established in December 1997 to recognize communication students in good standing who share the Hunts’ interest in journalism, communicating issues in public, and public relations.

Tom, a 1964 graduate of WSU, was president of the public relations and issues management firm Landrey & Hunt, Inc., which he started in 1983 in Portland, Oregon. He is now President of Hunt Communication, LLC. He began his career in broadcast journalism, was press secretary to a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and served as media relations and legislative representative for a national trade association before becoming director of public affairs and information for a large Northwest Utility.

Karen is a 1979 WSU Communications graduate, having returned as a single mother to complete her degree. She was a reporter for the Idahonian in Moscow before joining the Washington Public Power Supply System where she was the manager of external communications before joining the Bonneville Power Administration. There, she was a member of the executive council and held several positions, including manager of external affairs and state relations, and liaison manager with the Northwest Power Planning Council.

Both of the Hunts worked while attending WSU and understand the importance of economic stability while earning a degree. It is in the interest of helping provide that stability and assisting in the development of professional communicators that this scholarship is offered to a promising student in the Communication Department.