Today, I announced an incredible act of generosity that will fund a transformative initiative in the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication for our students and our faculty – and we believe for the journalism and media professions.

The school will use a $3.5 million gift from the estate of Reese Felts, a 1952 Carolina alumnus who passed away earlier this year, to develop a major student news and research initiative. It’s the largest single gift ever to the school by an individual.

We will transform a classroom into an experimental student newsroom that doubles as a research laboratory to help better understand audiences and communities that form around news.

The vision for this project is different than anything I’ve seen yet in journalism education.

These days, every good journalism school is talking about convergence, new media, new business models and innovation. Many are producing some kind of digital project. Everyone is talking about new, but I don’t think we hear enough about news.

There is a real need to re-focus on news – that essential core value of journalism – news that serves the public interest, news that promotes civic engagement, news that builds community, and news that helps citizens make informed decisions within our democracy.

The experimental newsroom creates a hub where every specialization taught in the school can work together both to produce a quality news product and to learn the best ways to reach and keep their audiences.

Collaboration across disciplines is nothing new to the school – it’s been the catalyst to some of our best work to date. But this new ongoing venture creating a dynamic and evolving news product that continually feeds into critically important research is a truly ground-breaking development.

The flexibility to experiment and test theories is central to this project. We won’t be afraid to make some mistakes along the way. This will teach students how to develop ideas and take risks and test how audiences respond – that’s how you learn, and that’s how you discover new knowledge that can serve an industry.

We have launched a national search for a proven innovator to help lead this project as a start-up student news organization supported by faculty and technical staff.

Reese Felts went to work at WSJS radio in Winston-Salem after graduation. Soon thereafter, he enlisted in the Air Force and served in Japan. After his discharge, he returned to WSJS-TV and soon began directing live local TV shows. He also was a radio announcer, promotion manager, sports network producer and television personality. He retired in 1980.

We deeply appreciate what Reese Felts has done for the school.