Sportsnet to invest $250,000 in KPU Journalism and Communications

Portion of funds will go toward several scholarships

“[It’s a] very substantial and generous gift,” says Beverly Sinclair, chairperson of the journalism department at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. “A big chunk of that fund is going to be used for scholarships, and we haven’t yet determined where the other half of it will be going.”

One such scholarship will provide $5,000 for five years, which a student will use to cover a major sporting event in North America of their choice. Another $5,000 scholarship will be for a student who wishes to cover a sports-related issue, such as concussions or homophobia. Like most scholarships, students who wish to apply must submit a formal proposal that describes what they intend to cover, and how they’ll use their funds.

There will also be four $2,500 scholarships per year, for five years, for any journalism student, regardless of their interests in sports. The criteria for these is yet to be determined, as of press time.

“We’ve been working with Sportsnet over the last… Many months, for us to determine what our needs are,” says Sinclair. “It’s an extremely generous donation, and it will have a big, big impact on students—not only those ones who get those scholarships in five years, which [will be] 30 people, but in our program for years to come, based on how we spend our money.”

The exact use of the money remains to be seen. It may go towards equipment for journalism students, including microphones, video cameras, and software. The funding could also be an opportunity for KPU to build up a broadcast journalism program to compete with the likes of BCIT, putting the two institutions on more equal footing.