A $25,000 grant from an Austin journalist and her mother, a 104-year-old former journalist, has provided a significant boost to fully endow the S. Griffin Singer Scholarship, created recently by Friends of The Daily Texan, Inc.
The donation is from former Daily Texan staffer and Austin journalist Jo Clifton and her mother, Loretta Diggs Pendergraft.
Jo is a respected Texas journalist and lawyer, currently serving as Political Editor of the Austin Monitor and is a former member of The Daily Texan staff with a Bachelor of Journalism degree.
Jo Clifton and her mother, Loretta Diggs Pendergraft (Photo courtesy of William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of Kansas)
She has worked at the El Paso Times and the Austin American-Statesman and earned her law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and worked as an attorney and as a Municipal Court Judge.
She returned to journalism at In Fact, which became In Fact Daily. In Fact Daily is now the Austin Monitor. Currently she is the Political Editor and has served as editor and publisher.
Loretta Diggs Pendergraft, at age 104, is perhaps the oldest graduate of the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas.
During World War II she worked for newspapers in Kansas and Oklahoma, and married Jo’s Dad when he returned from the war. She and Jo have donated both to KU and Kansas State.
The S. Griffin Singer Scholarship was recently created by the board of Friends of The Daily Texan. Singer is a member of the board and is a highly respected retired journalist and instructor at the University of Texas journalism school.
“This donation from Jo and her Mother is not only a major honor for Griff Singer, but also a key contribution to the Friends group as it builds its endowment to guarantee long-term availability of scholarships currently offered, “said John Reetz, president of Friends of The Daily Texan. “The Friends group and donors currently fund 12 annual scholarships, and we will soon start a campaign to fully endow all existing grants, and hopefully offer more grants to students.”
If you would like to support the scholarship fund and other efforts, you may donate here:
https://friendsofthedailytexan.com/donations/
The Friends of the Daily Texan is a non-profit organization that funds scholarship grants, editorial and special project needs, photo and video equipment, has helped fund bringing the Texan archives online, donates to Horn Raiser and other funds supporting The Texan and other items as they arise.