DEVELOPMENT NEWS:
Environmental concerns behind Martins' donation

Jean and Ernie Martin ('50) want to leave a legacy to the world and to journalism. Both are CU alums who want to support their alma mater. They also have a deep commitment to protect the environment and support the wise use of the planet's natural resources. So it was a "natural" fit to support the Center for Environmental Journalism at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Establishing an endowed fund in 1993 to support CEJ, they continue to substantially increase support for the fund. As the endowment grows from their gifts and the CU Foundation's investment of their funds (22.8 percent return last year), the center's co-directors, Len Ackland and Tom Yulsman, have a steady stream of funding to support the center's mission, educating current and future journalist about environmental reporting.

As Yulsman says, "Earnings from an endowed fund provide us with support we can count on. The Martin Environmental Journalism Fund gives us the ability to act quickly on opportunities. This summer, we used funds from the endowment to completely revamp our Web site to make it much more inviting and sophisticated. Had we not had that support, we would have had to spend considerable time and effort trying to raise money from other sources for the redesign – and we may not have succeeded right away." He went on to credit the Martins' foresight. "They really are leaving a legacy that makes a tremendous impact," Yulsman says. See the CEJ Web site at www.colorado.edu/journalism/cej.

Ernie Martin believes in the importance of training young journalists to examine different sides of the issue. "Often, a journalist can be swayed by one side or another," he says. "They need to learn how to dig deeper."

Digging deeper has been the hallmark of many loyal alums and friends of the School, just some of whom are listed on this page. If you want to create a lasting legacy through a gift to the SJMC, please contact me directly at 303-492-4550 or John.Pepperdine@cufund.org. And of course, I love visitors at:

John Pepperdine, Development Director
University of Colorado Foundation
School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Armory, 116B
478 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0478