COLLEGE PARK — The Andrew and Julie Klingenstein Family Fund has generously committed $3 million to endow Local News Network Director Jerry Zremski’s faculty position at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
The Klingenstein Family Endowed Chair in Journalism follows the 2022 anchor commitment from Andy and Julie Klingenstein to launch the Local News Network at Merrill College.
Zremski, the inaugural director, is an award-winning journalist who was the Washington bureau chief for The Buffalo News from 2007-2022 and a reporter for the publication since 1984. He spent two stints as a Merrill adjunct lecturer before joining the full-time faculty.
"We are very proud to stand with Jerry and his team at Merrill in support of local journalism," Andy Klingenstein said.
LNN aids news outlets throughout Maryland by creating important localized news content and by teaming those news outlets with student reporters. The college created the Local News Network to strengthen local coverage throughout Maryland while providing students with invaluable experience in local reporting.
“Julie and Andy Klingenstein recognized years ago that democracy starts in town halls, school board meetings and other places where people come together to govern themselves,” Merrill College Dean Rafael Lorente said. “Their generous gift guarantees that Merrill College will always have a faculty member dedicated to teaching the next generation of local journalists while at the same time serving the people of Maryland. We could not be more grateful.”
LNN has produced multiple projects of value to Marylanders, including county-by-county school board election voter guides, an examination of the lack of child care opportunities in the state and an in-depth look at the education reform legislation passed by the state government. It also conducted the inaugural Maryland Local News Ecosystem Study in 2024 that showed which parts of the state are most and least covered by news organizations.
The Local News Network offers an internship program that provides stipends to several students each summer to intern at a local news outlet. Students typically pursue those internships after their sophomore or junior year. The stipends cover living expenses and summer tuition credits.
Julie Klingenstein, a 1980 University of Maryland graduate and a former trustee of the College Park Foundation, is active in structured-literacy efforts and served as a longtime literacy volunteer for District of Columbia Public Schools.
Andy Klingenstein had been an early stage investor for many years and previously practiced law. He now devotes most of his time to family philanthropies based in New York City (with interests in scientific research, mental health and early childhood development) and to the foundation he manages with Julie.
As residents of Washington, D.C., Julie and Andy focus their personal philanthropy on D.C. public education, promoting the health of low-income infants and mothers, and supporting robust journalism.
For more information, contact:
Josh Land
joshland@umd.edu
301-405-1321