Gaylord Alum Donates $10,000 Gift to Students

Gaylord alum Liz Blunt recently donated to her alma mater to support the Student Experience Fund, scholarships and internship support for current students. As an impassioned journalist herself, Blunt said that giving back was a no-brainer.

“I believe in freedom of the press. I believe in the public’s right to know. I believe in a democracy where information must be accessible to all. I believe in the next generation of journalists and I want to help them advance their education, embrace opportunities and launch their careers,” she said.

When Blunt first came to OU from Dallas in 1964, she had declared herself as a nursing major.

“That path didn’t pan out too well because I was flunking my science classes. Whoops!”

Shortly after, Blunt switched over to the H.H. Herbert Journalism School, where she fell in love and flourished in the craft. She quickly moved through the ranks at the Daily, and eventually landed an internship at Denver’s Rocky Mountain News for 1967’s Summer of Love.

“I was one of two interns and we rotated through all the news departments, earning occasional bylines and professional wages,” she said. “[It was] an amazing experience that cemented my choice of a journalism career.”

After graduating with her journalism degree, Blunt’s career began in Waterloo, IA, where she was offered a job as a broadcast news reporter at KXEL AM/FM Radio. However, her love of print communications was calling her back, and she left Iowa a year later to write, direct and produce a monthly magazine centered around the convention and tourist trade.

From 1977-1980, Blunt made the trek out to California and directed all internal communications for a firm in Silicon Valley before moving to Los Angeles. Although Blunt is retired now, she reinvented her career path to focus on being a career coach and professional resume writer.

Although her career has been fulfilling and exciting, Blunt says that the discrimination she’s experienced as a woman has fueled her dedication to giving back to the growing crop of Gaylord journalists who are about to navigate through this strange, exciting industry.

“Early in my career I encountered derision, discrimination and dismissal because I was a woman. As a result of those long-ago hurts, I decided to set up several scholarships solely for talented, vibrant women and/or minority journalism students at OU. Investing in the future of creative, inquisitive students who want to move from good-to-great journalism is how I’m giving back,” she said.

“Truthfully, newspaper ink is in my blood,” Blunt added, as the great-great granddaughter of a South Carolina newspaper proprietor. (We think so, too!)

Thank you, Liz Blunt! That mixture of love and ink will pave the way for future journalists for years to come thanks to your generous donation. Gaylord College appreciates everything you’ve done and continue to do for our students.