|
|
-
January 29, 2007
Greenlee School scholarship honoring Hugh Sidey announced at White House
- The official White House program listed the reason why more than 100
dignitaries were attending the event in the East Room of the White House
for the presentation of the first Hugh S. Sidey Scholarship in Print Journalism.
But by the time Michael Bugeja, professor and director of the Greenlee School
of Journalism and Communication, presented Fred Love as the first recipient
of the Sidey Scholarship, the audience was awed by testimonies of the legacy
left behind by Hugh Sidey, a 1950 journalism graduate and former White House
correspondent for Time magazine.
Former President George H.W. Bush spoke about his close personal relationship
with Sidey. He described the Greenfield, Iowa, native as a probing reporter
but one who respected the office of the President.
"While Hugh believed in an adversarial relationship between reporters
and the President, he never let it spill over into an antagonistic one,"
Bush said. "Hugh never lost his faith in the government's institutions
nor his faith in the people of this country.
"The world of journalism needs a few more Hugh Sideys."
The former president wasn't the only dignitary to speak about the achievements
of the Iowa State journalism alumnus.
First Lady Laura Bush spoke of Sidey's weekly articles in Time
and Life magazine, chronicling presidents during historical events
including President Eisenhower during the U-2 crisis, President Kennedy
during the Vienna Summit, President Johnson during the turbulent '60s, President
Nixon's trip to China and President Carter's efforts with the Camp David
peace accords.
"If a President was making history, Hugh was writing it," Mrs. Bush said.
The First Lady also spoke of her personal relationshp with Sidey and his
work as a reporter.
"I know that whenever I had a conversation with Hugh, I was immediately
engaged with how engaged he was in life," she said. "Hugh Sidey
understood that our leaders are human, and he treated them with dignity
and respect. Whenever I saw Hugh's byline, I knew that a thoughtful, even
article would follow. And as someone married to a President, I appreciate
that."
Prior to presenting the scholarship to Love, Bugeja spoke of Sidey's love
of journalism.
"When Mr. Sidey came to the Greenlee School's 100th anniversary celebration,
he told me of his favorite memory as a reporter," Bugeja said. "He
said that covering Adair County, Iowa, with his notebook and camera for
his father's newspaper was ‘good as it gets as a reporter.'"
The Sidey Scholarship was made possible through a generous gift from David
M. Rubenstein, founder of The Carlyle Group and former deputy assistant
to the President during the Carter Administration, and the White House Historical
Association.
The invitation-only event was attended by several members of the Washington
media and Iowa State representatives including President Gregory Geoffroy,
Elizabeth Hoffman, executive vice president and provost; and Michael Whiteford,
dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Michael
Bugeja presents Fred Love with the First Hugh S. Sidey Scholarship in Print
Journalism, while First Lady Laura Bush and Ann Sidey look on.
First
Lady Laura Bush
Former
President George H.W. Bush
Hugh Sidey
|
|
