PHOTO: Joe Mason, President of ALJA
Minneapolis, MN, USA- The Association of Liberian Journalists in the Americas (ALJA) will on Monday, June 20, 2022, launch its Scholarship Fund for deserving students of the Department of Communication and Media Studies at the University of Liberia.
In a Press Release issued over the weekend, the Association said the Scholarship Fund will be formally launched on the campus of the University of Liberia; and the event will be graced by a number of 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.
The National President of the Association of Liberian Journalists in the Americas Mr. Joe Mason will make remarks virtually while ALJA’s Vice President Dr. Samuel Wai Johnson, who is currently visiting the country will make the presentation to the two students.
The ALJA Scholarship is named in honor of veteran Journalist Joseph Wesseh 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. Mrs. Jemima Teh, widow of the late veteran Journalist, is also expected to attend the program virtually and make remarks.
The US based Liberian Journalists Association says the scholarship will be supported from 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 Department of Communication and Media Studies, Mr. Euriahs Togar for embracing the partnership with ALJA which he expects will prove beneficial for other students at the department.
ALJA is a conglomeration of current and retired Liberian journalists residing in the Americas. It is a 501c (3) non-profit organization. The Association was founded in 1998 with the objectives of advancing press freedom through media capacity building, and the fostering of good governance in Liberia through media advocacy