News Release

CHAPEL HILL -- After launching a $3 million fund-raising campaign for faculty support, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s department of communication studies got an early boost from alumnus Ken Lowe, a media executive who founded Home & Garden Television (HGTV).

Lowe, a 1972 graduate and president and chief executive officer of the E.W. Scripps Co. in Cincinnati, has pledged $300,000 to support faculty of the department, which is a part of the College of Arts and Sciences.

"There is no more important focus at the University of North Carolina than recruiting and retaining gifted educators," Lowe said recently. "Carolina is known for having outstanding faculty who excel in both teaching and research. That’s what makes UNC a leading public university."

The gift, which establishes the Kenneth W. Lowe Fund for Faculty Excellence, counts toward the Carolina First campaign goal of $1.8 billion. Carolina First is a multi-year, private fund-raising campaign to support Carolina’s vision of becoming the nation’s leading public university.

Since July 2001, nearly 70 College of Arts and Sciences faculty have been recruitment targets, receiving attractive offers with substantial salary increases and research funding from other colleges and universities. Communication studies – one of the largest academic departments, with 800 majors – embarked on the mini-campaign to address faculty recruitment and retention in the face of increasing competition from peer universities. Over the last six years, eight of the department’s 21 permanent faculty have received offers from other institutions.

"We were successful in retaining five of those, but lost three wonderful colleagues," said Dr. Bill Balthrop, chair of communication studies. "Ken’s gift provides funding for a range of concerns that faculty often cite as reasons for staying at Carolina, such as summer stipends, research funding and graduate student assistance.

"The department will benefit because we will now be in a much stronger position to recruit the best new faculty in the country and to keep them after they’re hired. Faculty will benefit, as they will now have desperately needed resources to help them with their research, creative projects and teaching. And, most importantly of all, our students will benefit from having the leading scholars and artists bring their work into the classroom. The possibilities are simply wonderful."

Lowe has been a longtime supporter of communication studies. From his service on the department’s advisory board to his support for internships in Hollywood and helping the department meet urgent funding needs, Lowe has backed several efforts to increase opportunities for students interested in the media and entertainment industry.

Prior to rejoining the corporate office in Cincinnati, Lowe was chairman and chief executive officer of Knoxville-based Scripps Networks. He built the company’s category television division into one of the nation’s fastest growing and most successful creators of unique brands for television and the Internet. In addition to establishing HGTV in 1994, Lowe managed the Food Network, in which the company owns a majority interest. He oversaw the launch of the company’s third network, Do It Yourself (DIY), in September 1999, as well as Scripps’ newest network, Fine Living, which launched in March 2002. Lowe also oversaw the acquisition of the Shop at Home television retailing network in late 2002.

Lowe joined Scripps in 1980 as general manager of the company’s radio properties. In 1988, he became vice president of programming, promotion and marketing for the company’s nine network-affiliated television stations.

Lowe, who grew up in Westfield, N.C., began his career in radio with Southern Broadcasting in 1969 and continued with various management positions in radio and television with Harte-Hanks Broadcasting in the late 1970s.

The department of communication studies’ 7,000 alumni include majors from the departments of speech communications and radio, television and motion pictures that predate the creation of the department of communication studies in 1993.

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Note: A photo of Lowe is available at http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/alum/lowe_ken.JPG

UNC News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415 or deborah_saine@unc.edu