Marquette University Receives Single Largest Donation $28M gift to College of Communication will establish Marquette as one of the nation's premier communications schools Released: May 6, 2005 Marquette University has received $28,000,000, the largest single donation in its history, to benefit the College of Communication, President Robert Wild, S.J., announced at the 47 th annual Pere Marquette Dinner held Thursday.  The College of Communication will be renamed J. William and Mary Diederich College of Communication in honor of the donors (pictured right), and will establish the college as one of the top institutions for educating students in the converging world of print, broadcast and electronic communication through innovative curricula, cutting-edge research, and access to experts in the field. "Rarely, if ever, does a college have the opportunity to reinvent the education it provides, but thanks to Bill and Mary Diederich's great generosity and vision, that is precisely the position in which we find ourselves." President Robert Wild, S.J., says.  "When Marquette's J. William and Mary Diederich College of Communication is recognized as one of the very best schools of its kind, we will be able to trace the college's transformation right back to this moment.  Because just two alumni have decided to do something special for Marquette, this university has just taken a huge stride forward in its march toward greatness.   Marquette is and always will be profoundly grateful to Bill and Mary Diederich for their marvelously incredible gift." A Transforming Gift The gift is specifically designated for the transformation of the College of Communication and will establish endowments for scholarships, professorships, research, guest speakers and capital improvements including a renovation of Johnston Hall, which will include a complete overhaul of its audio and video broadcast equipment for state-of-the-art studios, the addition of "smart" classrooms with Web technology, and Wi-Fi Internet connectivity throughout the building. Scholarships will be need-based while faculty research funding will be directed toward research that investigates the role of communication technology as an agent of social change.  The guest speaker series will be focused on changes to the communication field and will bring together students, alumni and faculty with leaders in the communication industry.   Diederich's Vision: Marriage of Theory and Skill In funding the future direction of the college, Mr. Diederich is building upon his career of vision in the communication field. According to Dr. William R. Elliott, dean of the college and William R. Burleigh and E.W. Scripps Professor, a shift in communication in recent years means that graduates with communication degrees will no longer work only in newspapers, TV or publishing. Restructuring the college's curriculum to utilize the Diederich gift will create the opportunity to educate Marquette students in a new world of communication. "Graduates of the Diederich College of Communication will have the theory and skills to master changing technology and communication across fields," Elliott says. "Our innovative curriculum will give alumni a competitive advantage, particularly in broadcast and electronic communication of the future, while they remain grounded in the Catholic, Jesuit education of Marquette.  We will reinforce that by encouraging students to take a second major so that their expertise beyond communication will create the most skilled communicators of this century." About J. William and Mary Diederich Mr. Diederich served in several leadership positions at Landmark Communications Inc. in Norfolk, Va., before retiring in 1990.   Landmark Communications owns the Weather Channel and related media; eight daily newspapers (including The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va.; the Roanoke (Va.) The Diederichs met while pursuing their degrees at Marquette. Times and the News & Record in Greensboro, N.C.); some 100 other paid and free newspapers, shoppers and other special publications; two television stations; four publishing companies; and an emerging business area. A native of Ladysmith, Wis., Mr. Diederich enrolled at Marquette as part of the Navy ROTC program in September 1947.  After working for Marquette University Press, the Marquette Tribune and other entities around Milwaukee as a student, Diederich received his bachelor's degree in journalism in 1951. After active service in the Marine Corps, Mr. Diederich received an MBA from Harvard University in 1955 and joined Norfolk Newspapers Inc., a predecessor of Landmark Communications.   Diederich was a part-time instructor at Boston University in 1954 and taught business courses at Old Dominion University in Norfolk at night for four years. Mr. Diederich also continued as an officer of the Marine Corps Reserve and retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1971. Mary K. Diederich, Arts '52, is also very accomplished.  She successfully raised their 13 children.   As a musician, Mrs. Diederich played viola for many years in the Virginia Beach Symphony Orchestra and later in the Carson City (Nevada) Symphony Orchestra.  She was a cantor and choir member in all of the Catholic parishes in which she lived in Virginia and Nevada. Mr. and Mrs. Diederich are members of Marquette's 1881 Society and have supported Marquette as alumni in a number of ways including funding the Bill and Mary Klein Diederich Scholarship and the J. William and Mary K. Diederich Advanced Digital Laboratory.  One of their children, Michael M. Diederich, graduated from the College of Business Administration in 1978. The Diederich gift is a significant addition to Magis: The Campaign for Marquette as the seven-year campaign nears its conclusion in June. With this gift, more than $345 million has been raised from alumni, parents and friends through the campaign, making it the university's most successful fund-raising initiative in history. Office of Public Affairs Contacts Brigid O'Brien Miller Director of University Communication Phone: (414) 288-7445 Send e-mail Anne Broeker Sr. Media Relations Specialist Phone: (414) 288-0286 Send e-mail