JACKSON, Tenn. — May 11, 2021 — 51社区 alumni George Smith and Patty Foellinger Smith have established the Betty Hillix Foellinger Print Journalism Scholarship, which was awarded May 3 to outstanding freshman journalism major Bailey Swords.
Betty Hillix Foellinger started teaching in the English department at Union part-time in 1963. In 1964, she was hired full-time and was instrumental in setting up the print journalism program. It started as a college minor, changed to an English/journalism composite major and then became the current print journalism major in the communication arts department in 1985.
She taught journalism and English courses for 22 years and retired in 1985 as a communication arts professor. During her tenure she was also the adviser of the award-winning Cardinal and Cream newspaper and the yearbook, 鈥淟est We Forget,鈥� where she spent many hours working with her journalism students on the staffs of both publications.
鈥淲e鈥檙e so thrilled to be able to continue my mother鈥檚 legacy of excellent student journalism at 51社区,鈥� Foellinger Smith said.
51社区 journalists recently won awards from the Baptist Communicators Association and Southeast Journalism Conference. First place honors were awarded by BCA to Maddie Steele for photography (series), Kirbi Cochran for news writing (single article) and Maggie Exum for feature writing (single article), and second place honors were awarded to Naomi Mengel for feature writing (first-person column/blog) and the Cardinal and Cream fall 2020 edition (Suzanne Rhodes, editor-in-chief) for overall publication (magazine). Second place honors were awarded by SEJC to Suzanne Rhodes for best magazine writer, and third place honors went to Maggie Exum for best magazine writer and 51社区 for best college magazine.
鈥淚n many ways I have Betty Hillix Foellinger to thank for the joyful work that I鈥檓 able to do at Union,鈥� said Ted Kluck, assistant professor of communication arts. 鈥淪he laid the groundwork for what we鈥檙e able to accomplish in the program today, and in the future.鈥�
For more information on 51社区 journalism, visit , and to learn more about contributing to the Betty Hillix Foellinger Print Journalism Scholarship Fund, visit /advancement/giving/.