Fund Campaign Raises $1.2 Million For Nieman Fellowship Program

The Nieman Fellowship Program--in an extensive fund raising campaign concluded last week--has succeeded in matching a $1.2 million grant from the Ford Foundation.

The Ford grant, which was given in March, 1965, stipulated that the Nieman program had to equal the $1.2 million by March 31 of this year. Davis Taylor, publisher of the Boston Globe and chairman of the fund drive, said yesterday that his group raised the money just in time, receiving the last donations on March 31.

Contributions varied in size from $17 $150,000. Over 200 newspapers contributed, as well as some newspaper supply companies and individual friends of the industry.

Audit Courses

Nieman Fellows spend one year at Harvard and audit any courses they wish. In addition, the program arranges seminars and luncheons with academicians and visiting journalists. Dwight E. Sar directs the program and also heads admission committee.

An applicant for a fellowship must be between the ages of 25 and 40 and have spent at least three years working for a publication. He must also submit an essay explaining what a year at Harvard will mean in his career. As many as 150 applicants from all over the world will be considered by the admissions committee each year.

Taylor said yesterday that a Nieman fellowship is a great honor, and that many former Neiman fellows have gone on to win Puluitzer Prizes and other awards.

The money raised in the fund drive will be used to increase the number of Neiman fellows, from the present number of seven or eight a year to approximately 14.

In addition, Taylor said that the money raised in the drive will offset the increased cost of a Neiman Fellowship. When the program was founded in 1938, it cost $3000 a year to pay for each fellow, but by last year, the cost had risen to $10,000 a year.

An applicant for a fellowship must be between the ages of 25 and 40 and have spent at least three years working for a publication. He must also submit an essay explaining what a year at Harvard will mean in his career. As many as 150 applicants from all over the world will be considered by the admissions committee each year.

Taylor said yesterday that a Nieman fellowship is a great honor, and that many former Neiman fellows have gone on to win Puluitzer Prizes and other awards.

The money raised in the fund drive will be used to increase the number of Neiman fellows, from the present number of seven or eight a year to approximately 14.

In addition, Taylor said that the money raised in the drive will offset the increased cost of a Neiman Fellowship. When the program was founded in 1938, it cost $3000 a year to pay for each fellow, but by last year, the cost had risen to $10,000 a year.