Texas couple gives $1 million gift to UA for journalism program support
by July 14, 2016 9:18 pm 242 views
University of Arkansas alumna Susan Walk Burnett and her husband Rusty Burnett of Houston, have given $1 million to the University of Arkansas to support a new venue inside Kimpel Hall for journalism and student media operations.
The $1 million pledge will help create a modern venue for the two programs, including a new UATV production room, newsroom and control rooms. The addition will be named the Susan Walk Burnett Journalism and Student Media Center in honor of the donors, subject to the Board of Trustees’ approval.
“The Department of Journalism means a great deal to me, and I am thrilled that we can contribute to its continued success with this gift,” Sue Burnett said. “My hope is that these new facilities will create an engaging environment for students who wish to pursue careers in these fields and allow them to gain valuable experience working in settings that mirror what they will find after graduation.”
The Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism is located in Kimpel Hall, which was opened in 1973 as the Communications Classroom Building. In 1983, the building was given its name to honor the memory of Ben D. Kimpel, professor of English, who died that same year.
The addition to the building will be located outside the front doors of Kimpel, facing McIlroy Avenue and Founders Hall, and will cost approximately $2 million. Thanks to the Burnett gift, the project will be fully funded, and construction will begin in the summer of 2017.
Todd Shields, dean of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, which includes the Department of Journalism, said this gift will be transformational for both Kimpel Hall and the university’s journalism students.
Susan Walk Burnett grew up in El Dorado and has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Fulbright College. As a student, she was secretary of Chi Omega Sorority and co-editor of the Razorback yearbook in 1968. She is now the president and founder of Burnett Specialists, a $70 million staffing and placement firm with 10 offices in Houston, Austin, San Antonio and El Paso, and Choice Specialists in Dallas.
At the University of Arkansas, Burnett has supported the journalism department by creating scholarships for journalism students and funding the Reading Room in Kimpel Hall, which was named after her in 1999.