This next academic year, graduate students in the School of Journalism and Communication have yet another reason to appreciate the generosity of the late T. Neil Taylor, ’31.

Since 1940, one student per year has been chosen for the T. Neil Taylor Ward for Best Thesis. But when Taylor began making regular donations to what was then the School of Journalism, he hoped some day his contributions would not only serve to recognize student achievements, but help fund students’ education as well.

Now nearly 60 years later, his dream lives on. This fall, seven graduate students will receive $15,000 earned by Taylor’s $3800 donation.

When Taylor decided to attend the University of Oregon, his family was not able to help him financially. He supported himself with part-time jobs. In spite of the demands of work, he participated in a variety of activities in the School of Journalism.

During his years on campus, he was an Oregon Daily Emerald reporter, a day editor, and a news editor. He was also an Oregona section editor and a member of Sigma Delta Chi, the International Professional Journalistic Fraternity for Men. Dorothy Thomas, whom he married in 1934, was similarly active on the Emerald and Oregana.

“Neil Taylor knew from personal experience the challenges of funding a college education,” said Tim Gleason, dean of the SOJC. “The use of the T. Neil Taylor Fund to support graduate education enables the School to provide much needed financial support for graduate students and allows the students to focus more of their attention on academic pursuits.”

Taylor and Dorothy both graduated in 1931. Economic necessity pushed Taylor toward a business career. He established a fish brokerage business in Oakland, Calif. When World War II broke out, Taylor became a major food supplier for the troop boats embarking from the Oakland/San Francisco docks. His business boomed.

His daughter, Patricia Wood, says he made his donation to “repay the University, in some small way, for having provided him with the educational infrastructure to succeed in spite of hard times.”

This year’s recipients of the T. Neil Taylor Fund for Graduate Scholarship are:

William Cassidy holds a B.A. (Tulsa University, 1982) and an M.A. (Houston, 1998) in communication studies/journalism and speech. Bill researches professional horse races for a data collection agency.

Jane Marcellus holds a B.A. (Wesleyan, 1980) an M.S. (Northwestern 1982) and M.A. (Arizona, 1993) in English and journalism. Jane is program director and instructor in a college journalism department.

Christine Quail holds a B.A. (Penn State, 1996) and an M.A. (Penn State, 1998) in English, Russian and media studies. Most recently Christine taught debate and research skills to inner-city high school students.

Kumarini Silva holds a B.A. (Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 1996) and an M.A. (Miami University, 1999) in communication media and mass communication theory. She teaches film criticism.

Helena Vanhala earned a degree in English philology from the University of Tampere in Finland and holds an M.S. (UO, 1999) in journalism and communication.

Ian Steinberg holds a B.A. (Penn State, 1997) in media studies. Ian is an administrator in a computer firm and coordinates desktop publishing .

Jing Lin holds a B.A. (Xiamen– China, 1997) in journalism and communication. Jing is interested in international journalism.