Enquirer: Jerry Springer and Friends Raise Money for Scholarship

Jerry Springer and some old friends held court at the Jim Knippenberg Society of Professional Journalists Scholarship celebration and fundraiser April 18 at The Celestial’s Incline Lounge in Mount Adams.

Springer and former WLWT broadcast colleagues Pat Barry and Norma Rashid were the special guests for the evening. Several University of Cincinnati students, faculty and staff members also attended the upbeat gala. The Cincinnati Enquirer posted a photo gallery of the event, which can be seen at

Cincinnati.com

.

Knippenberg passed away in November 2009 at age 63. He was a fixture at UC, earning a bachelor’s degree in literature in 1968, a master’s in education in 1971 and teaching in the journalism program for more than a decade. The Elder High School grad was a longtime reporter, columnist and editor at the Enquirer where he was perhaps best known for his Psst! gossip column.

The scholarship fund was founded in 2010 by members of the UC’s journalism program, the Society of Professional Journalists and other friends and colleagues of the late Knippenberg to honor his contributions to the Cincinnati community. When fully endowed, the scholarship will support one journalism student in the University of Cincinnati’s McMicken College of Arts & Sciences each year with a $2,500 scholarship. So far, the Knippenberg Scholarship Committee has raised roughly half of the $50,000 needed for the scholarship to become fully endowed, and it hopes to complete the endowment this year.

An online auction supporting the scholarship fund is now open and runs through April 30. Items up for bidding include vacation getaways, shopping trips, event tickets, sports memorabilia and more.

For more information and to bid on auction items, go to

www.knipscholarship.org

.