***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
CUMMINGS FOUNDATION AWARDS BRANDEIS JOURNALISM PROGRAM MAJOR GRANT TO SUPPORT OUTREACH AND REINVENTION EFFORTS
WALTHAM, MA – The Brandeis University Journalism Program is one of 150 local nonprofits that was just awarded a grant through the Cummings Foundation's $30 Million Grant Program. The Cummings Foundation's support will help the Journalism Program continue to grow its enrollment, diversity, course offerings, and overall impact.
Brandeis Journalism first received a three-year Cummings Foundation grant in 2021, to jumpstart the efforts to reimagine journalism education. That grant was a crucial piece in the program’s effort to level the playing field, helping students from all backgrounds secure meaningful internships and other experiential learning opportunities. It also helped the program bring dynamic speakers to the Brandeis campus to engage with students. And it assisted in the program’s efforts to address local news deserts, including through the fruitful partnership with the nonprofit digital startup Brookline.News.
During the last three years, the number of journalism students at Brandeis has more than quadrupled, and become highly diverse. Rooted in the liberal arts but designed to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow, the Brandeis Journalism Program has added vitality to campus life, and strengthened connections to neighboring communities, through outreach efforts and a series of public forums. Outreach efforts included the production and publication of an insider’s guide to Waltham, published in both English and Spanish, and distributed throughout campus and the city, in partnership with the Waltham Partnership for Youth.
This three-year Cummings Foundation renewal grant will enable the Journalism Program to build on these impressive efforts and expand its community engagement initiatives in the Greater Waltham area and beyond. It will provide important resources to Brandeis students, in and out of the classroom, all with the goal of preparing them to be adaptive, creative and innovative media producers -- and future leaders in the field. The entire Brandeis Journalism team is grateful to the Cummings Foundation for its critical community support.
About Cummings Foundation
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings of Winchester, MA, and has grown to be one of the largest private foundations in New England. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including New Horizons retirement communities, in Marlborough and Woburn, and Cummings Health Sciences, LLC. Additional information is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org
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