Murray Scholar Print Journalism Scholarship Program
Presented by: The Jim Murray Memorial Foundation
2012 Essay Question and Guidelines
The Jim Murray Memorial Foundation (JMMF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, established in 1999 to perpetuate
the Jim Murray legacy, and his love for and dedication to his extraordinary career in journalism. The JMMF mission is
to award five (5) $5,000 scholarships annually to print journalism students through a nationwide essay competition.
2012 Essay Question:
Q. Write a column-style personality profile that paints a word portrait of a coach,
player, referee, fan or any other interesting personality related to sports in your
community. Use observation and interviews with your subject and those who know
him or her to create a compelling character for your readers.
I. Conditions of Eligibility:
A. An applicant must be a citizen of the United States; pending application for citizenship does not
qualify a person to apply.
B. An applicant must have achieved academic standing sufficiently advanced to assure completion of
his/her second and/or third year of undergraduate study, achieving junior or senior status for the
fall 2012 semester at the University’s School of (print) Journalism, who will graduate in spring of
2013 and not mid-year.
C. An applicant must have at least a “B” (3.0) grade point average and be enrolled full-time.
D. An applicant must show, integrity of character, interest in and respect for his/her fellow humans,
and the energy to use his/her writing talents to the fullest extent.
II. Essay Format Guidelines:
A. Essay Format:
1. No more than 1000 words, but no less than 750 words.
2. Must be prepared with a one-inch (1”) margin, 12-point font, double-spaced.
3. Applicant’s first and last name and word count in the upper right corner of each page
4. Multiple pages must be numbered bottom-center.
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Murray Scholar Print Journalism Scholarship Program
B. Additional items to submit with the essay
1. Completed essay application, including full name, email address, cell phone number, and date
of birth
2. PDF of essay emailed to Murrayscholars@aol.com
3. Students must submit one (1) copy of his/her most recent official transcript
III. Student Submission Guidelines:
A. Students shall submit their essays and additional items requested to the journalism school or party
responsible for coordinating the Scholarship Program by the internal submission deadline determined by the
school.
B. The applicant’s journalism school will review student essays. Upon review, it will be at the journalism
school’s discretion to select one (1) student essay to be submitted for the JMMF scholarship competition.
C. The Jim Murray Memorial Foundation WILL NOT accept essays sent by students and will be returned
accordingly. It will be the responsibility of the journalism school to submit its selected essay to the
Foundation.
*Financial need gives no special claim to a Murray Scholarship. No student shall be qualified or
disqualified on account of race or religious opinions.
IV. Journalism School/ Department Guidelines
A. Implementing the Murray Scholar Scholarship Program
1. Each participating journalism school will encourage all eligible candidates to apply
2. Each participating journalism school will determine its own format in implementing the scholarship
competition under the following conditions:
a. Oversee that all competition guidelines are adhered to and strictly enforced.
b. Clearly post the Murray Scholar Scholarship Program Flyer for all students to see (included in
Scholarship Packet)
c. Additional promotional material (print, television, radio, Internet) created regarding the Scholarship
Program must be pre-approved by the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation prior to publicizing. Failure
to do so may result in disqualification from competition.
B. Journalism School Essay Selection
1. All Essays MUST BE PRESCREENED by each Journalism School/Department to ensure that all
minimum requirements have been met, all requested items have been submitted, and all other
necessary guidelines have been followed.
2. It will be at the journalism schools’ discretion to select one (1) student essay to be submitted for the
Scholarship competition. No more than one (1) submission per school will be accepted.
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Murray Scholar Print Journalism Scholarship Program
C. Journalism School Submission to JMMF
1. Deadlines –
a. The deadline to submit one (1) chosen essay AND all required materials to the Jim Murray
Memorial Foundation shall be postmarked no later than Monday, April 30, 2012.
b. The mailing address is:
Jim Murray Memorial Foundation * P.O. Box 60753 * Pasadena, CA 91116
V.
Murray Scholar Recipient Selection Process:
A. Judges* - A panel of national writers selected by the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation Board of
Directors will determine the scholarship winners.
B. Criteria – Murray Scholar Essays will be chosen based on the following criteria:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Integrity of content
Creativity
Grace with language
Ability to answer the essay question in its entirety
C. Winners - A total of five (5) Murray Scholars will be chosen
1. The five (5) scholarship winners will be notified by telephone and letter on or before August 1, 2012.
The Jim Murray Memorial Foundation will issue a $5,000.00 scholarship check to each winner’s
educational institution, to be used for the scholarship recipient’s 2012-2013 academic needs.
* The panel of judges will determine the Murray Scholar recipients, excluding Trinity College-Hartford. (Jim Murray’s
alma mater.) Faculty of the Creative Writing Program at Trinity College-Hartford will determine its own Murray
Scholar winner.
Please direct questions regarding the JMMF Murray Scholar Scholarship Program to Linda McCoyMurray (Murrayscholars@aol.com) or Bill McCoy (Bill@mmepr.com).
Important dates to remember:
Monday, April 30, 2012
On or before August 1, 2012
Journalism school deadline to submit (1) one essay for competition
Announcement of 2012 Murray Scholar recipients
Jim Murray Memorial Foundation
P.O. Box 60753
Pasadena, CA 91116
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