Flip Wilson Scholarship Created at Rutgers

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, is pleased to announce the creation of the Flip Wilson Scholarship for the study of journalism. Wilson, a New Jersey native, was an award-winning comedian who in 1970 won a Grammy for Best Comedy Recording for "The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress." That same year, he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series and in 1971 won an Emmy for writing and an Emmy for performing on "The Flip Wilson Show."

Through his estate, Wilson created the Los Angeles-based Flip Wilson Scholarship fund to provide scholarships for students majoring in journalism, notes James M.A. Murphy, fund executor. Trustees Walter Mandell, Angelina Hill and Alan Reback, and longtime Wilson friend and former publicist Dr. Kathleen Fearn-Banks, now a professor at the University of Washington, selected Rutgers to be among the first universities to receive the scholarship award. "Rutgers was selected because it offers the leading journalism program in Flip's home state," Dr. Kathleen Fearn-Banks explained.

"We are delighted to receive this important new journalism scholarship. Flip Wilson was one of the most influential figures in the world of media of the 20th century and this scholarship in his name will help support the strength and diversity of our program," added Dr. John V. Pavlik, professor and chair of the department of Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers' School of Communication, Information and Library Studies. Other universities to receive the scholarship award include the University of Washington, Wayne State University, California State University, Northridge and Howard University.

The Flip Wilson Scholarship at Rutgers will provide $23,500 in support to an African-American student majoring in journalism and media studies. The first award will be made in the 2003-2004 academic year. The scholarship will pay for tuition, fees, room and board and for text-books.

The scholarship selection criteria require students to write a 500-word essay on some aspect of Flip Wilson's work and impact on television or comedy; be enrolled in school full time as a junior or senior journalism major; require financial need and have a cumulative 3.0 grade point average based on a 4.0 scale.

Wilson, who was born Clerow Wilson on Dec. 8, 1933 in Jersey City, N.J. was said to have earned his nickname for his irreverent and sometimes flippant sense of humor that made people "flip." The most remembered of the many characters Wilson played was the sassy Geraldine Jones who with Wilson dressed in drag often quipped, "The devil made me do it" and "What you see is what you get."

One of 18 children, Wilson spent much of his first 16 years in foster care homes and knew first-hand what it was like to struggle financially. Wilson died at the age of 64 on November 25, 1998.

For further information, please contact:

Dr. John V. Pavlik, Professor and Chair,
Department of Journalism and Media Studies, SCILS,
4 Huntington St., Rutgers, New Brunswick, NJ 08901.
Office: 732-932-7500 ext. 8026
Mobile: 646-286-5574
Email: jpavlik@scils.rutgers.edu

Peter Sobel, Director of Development, SCILS, Rutgers,
Email: psobel@scils.rutgers.edu