Scholarship Supports Students From Classroom to Newsroom

The Collegian newspaper has been a training ground for generations of students, acting as a place to hone both journalistic and leadership skills.

While the experience might come with a modest paycheck, long hours, and late nights, serving on the paper is a formative role for Jackrabbits, shaping their passion for a career in reporting.

As Suzanne Fuller began exploring opportunities to honor her late husband, Larry, shortly after his passing in January 2025, her attention turned to South Dakota State University, its journalism program, and eventually student media. It led to her creating a $150,000 endowment that will provide $6,000 annually for rising junior or senior journalism majors, with preference to those in a leadership role within student media.

Suzanne and Larry were journalists, though neither went to SDSU. Suzanne attended the University of Nebraska’s School of Journalism, while Larry studied at the University of Missouri. Both immersed themselves in the student-run newspapers. Larry became editor of The Maneater while Suzanne was news editor for The Daily Nebraskan.

They met at a Big Eight Student Newspaper Conference during college, married in 1967, and ended up on staff together at the Minneapolis Star. Newspaper opportunities took them to Kentucky, then the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, and then Hawaii as Larry was named publisher of the Honolulu Advertiser and later the Pacific Business News. 

When they moved from Hawaii back to Sioux Falls, Larry said they were “moving from paradise to paradise,” a sign of the family’s enduring love of the city. They never sold their Sioux Falls home during their 16 years in Hawaii.

“Especially with the changing landscape in media today,” Suzanne added, “it is more important than ever to have factual reporting. It is so critical to our democracy.”