Among 15 new academic partners announced today, The Ohio State University’s College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering will participate in NBCUniversal’s NBCU Academy, a multi-platform journalism training and development program. Ohio State’s Office of Corporate Relations facilitated this collaboration.

Ohio State will join the 30 colleges and universities that have been part of the award-winning program, which aims to elevate the next generation of journalists, providing students from underrepresented communities a pipeline into newsrooms across media and technology. Since its inception in 2021, NBCU Academy partners have received funding, resources, training and development — in addition to access to the News Group’s world-class journalists.

Funding from the initiative will be used to create scholarships for undergraduate students. 

“The School of Communication is delighted to partner with NBCU Academy to identify and reward students who excel academically while making positive and significant contributions to diverse issues and/or communities," said Osei Appiah, professor of communication. “The NBCU scholarship award will provide students financial support and well-deserved recognition. I hope the recipients are inspired to continue to promote diversity as they pursue professional careers in journalism, media and other communication-related fields.”

Students in the College of Engineering, with an interest in media technology, will also benefit from scholarships.

“Like us, NBCUniversal values a multidisciplinary approach to education and innovation,” said Lisa Barclay, assistant dean and chief diversity officer. “We are so appreciative of their interest and investment in the next generation of engineers who will play a key role in the rapidly changing world of communications technology.”