Michigan Photojournalists Raising Money For New Gillette Scholarship Fund
ANN ARBOR, MI (September 23, 2007) - Some Michigan photojournalists are raising money to fund a new scholarship at the University of Michigan in honor of one of their photojournalism peers and classmates, Kristoffer Gillette, who died in 1994.
The Michigan College Photographer of the Year Scholarship Grant was established by Richard Gillette in memory of his son, Kristoffer, and it funds the Michigan Press Photographers Association's College Photographer of the Year contest each year, along with some University of Michigan scholarships. But now the photojournalist's friends would like to establish an additional scholarship, the Kristoffer Gillette Student Publications Education Fund, and they are trying to raise the money prior to the October re-dedication of the University of Michigan Student Publications Building.
"Kris left us far too soon but established a personal and professional legacy that is worth celebrating every day," Elizabeth Lippman and Matt Rennie wrote to members of the Michigan Press Photographers Association. "We're addressing this to those whose lives, like ours, were deeply affected by our intersections with Kristoffer. Every story involving Kris you recount with friends, or every private smile you have at a memory of times you shared, or every time you gaze with wonder at his remarkable body of work, is evidence of the profound way Kris touched each of us. We are seeking your help in recognizing this singularly gifted individual in a more formal manner.
"As part of the broader student publications fund-raising campaign, we have sought to establish the Kristoffer Gillette Student Publications Photography Education Fund. We have already reached the $1,000 plateau that ensures Kris's name will be recognized on a donor plaque that will be in the renovated Student Publications Building, but our goal is more ambitious. Once $10,000 is raised, the fund becomes an endowment fund with an annual award of at least $500. The stated purpose of the fund is 'to connect the photo staff with professional photographers whose work and attitudes exemplify Kristoffer Gillette's legacy: care and skill in capturing a strong image, selfless dedication to the quality of The Michigan Daily, and generous, charismatic mentoring of young photographers.'"
According to J. Scott Park, president of the MPPA, Gillette was a budding photojournalist who won numerous awards while a student at the University of Michigan. In addition to his work as photographer and photo editor at The Michigan Daily, his photographs appeared in local and national newspapers and on the cover of the book "Fab Five," written by Detroit Free Press writer Mitch Albom. Park said that Gillette suffered from epilepsy and died in his sleep on March 9, 1994, at age 23.
Gifts to the Kristoffer Gillette Student Publications Photography Education Fund can be sent to 420 Maynard Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-1327.
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