The Mary Elizabeth Lasher Barnette Women’s Leadership Scholarship Fund was established by the daughters of Mary Elizabeth Lasher Barnette to honor their mother’s leadership and devotion to the journalism profession and to Ohio University.

The daughter of Elizabeth Siddons and George Starr Lasher, Mrs. Barnette grew up in Athens. She became the first woman editor of the O.U. Post student newspaper in 1941 before graduating with a journalism degree in 1942. She broke professional barriers in New York City, becoming the first female reporter and columnist to work for Editor and Publisher, a trade journal for the newspaper industry. Later in her career, she worked as a reporter, weekly newspaper editor, and public relations executive in the Buffalo, New York area. Mrs. Barnette devoted her retirement years between 1989 and 2007 in Athens, Ohio to building scholarship opportunities for students at both the collegiate and high school levels.

This fund will support the education of women leaders in the field of journalism who will make lasting contributions to their profession and deliver quality journalism to the public.

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