Liberia: ALJA Launches Scholarship Fund at UL
ALJA’s Vice President Dr. Samuel Wai Johnson, who is currently visiting the country made the presentation to the two students.
The Association of Liberian Journalists in the Americas (ALJA) on June 20, launched its Scholarship Fund for deserving students of the Department of Communication and Media Studies at the University of Liberia.
According to a press release issued in Monrovia yesterday, the Association said the Scholarship Fund drive took place at the Department of Communications and Media Studies (formerly the Mass Communication Dept) at the University of Liberia.
It was graced by several faculty and Staff including Dr. Josephus Gray, Dean of the Amos C. Sawyer College of Social Sciences and Humanities, the Acting Chair of the Department of Communication and Media Studies, Professor Richmond Anderson, and the two scholarship recipients.
Joe Mason, ALJA’s National President, spoke virtually while his Vice President, Dr. Samuel Wai Johnson, who is currently visiting the country, made the presentation to the two students.
The ALJA Scholarship is named in honor of veteran Journalist Joseph Teh, who died earlier this year in Massachusetts, the United States. It will initially be awarded to two students of the Department of Communication and Media Studies with the potential of sponsoring more as additional funding becomes available.
Mr. Teh, a 37-year veteran of Liberian journalism and a member of ALJA, was an eminent reporter, exemplary editor, and astute media administrator who worked at multiple institutions in Liberia including the New Liberian newspaper, Liberia News Agency (LINA), the New Democrat, the National Newspaper, Monrovia Daily News, Talking Drum Studio, and Star Radio.
ALJA says the scholarship will be supported by its Media Fund, dedicated to improving the capacity of the media in Liberia in the form of training, logistical support, and humanitarian outreach.
Several weeks ago, the Association donated some laptop computers and micro recorders to nearly a dozen media institutions in Liberia. In the release, President Mason thanked ALJA members as well as its partners and donors who have contributed to the Association’s media fund over the years for making the scholarships and other support to the Liberian media possible.
The ALJA President also commended the Chairman of the Department of Communication and Media Studies, Mr. Euriahs Togar, for embracing the partnership with ALJA and which he expects will prove beneficial for other students in the department.
The Acting Chair of the department, Professor Richmond Anderson, made remarks. Also making remarks virtually were the chair of the department, Euriahs Togar (who is on study leave in the Netherlands), ALJA National President Joe Mason, and Mrs. Jemima Teh, widow of the late Joe Teh.
ALJA is a 501c (3) non-profit organization, comprising current and retired Liberian journalists residing in the Americas. The Association was founded in 1998 with the objectives of advancing press freedom through media capacity building and fostering good governance in Liberia through media advocacy.