Supporting the Next Generation of Journalists
Helen Kirkpatrick is devoted to education.
As a journalist, she has been able to educate and enlighten the public with her writing. Now retired, Helen is giving journalism students at Northeastern the same opportunities in honor of her late husband, William Leavitt, AS’50, a Northeastern graduate.
Helen has established gifts for the School of Journalism so that she can help provide future students with the best education possible. She believes that students today face an entirely new set of challenges when compared to previous generations.
“What is missing in most college educations today is legitimate experience in the working world,” Helen said. “I think that students are missing a really important educational component when they aren’t provided opportunities for outside experience – an experience that Northeastern provides through its co-op program.”
Born in Rochester, New York, Helen had an interest in writing from an early age. A graduate of Michigan State University, she went on to write for such newspapers as The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and the Baltimore Sun. While she was in Washington, D.C., Helen met and married William.
William had started his journalism career early on, as a copy boy for the Boston Globe. After graduating from Northeastern with a BA in English, he served in the Korean War. Upon his return to the United States, he received his master’s degree at Columbia University.
“One of the challenges that students are facing today is that journalism is a rapidly changing field,” she said. “There is so much more competition to enter the profession than there used to be.”
Helen recognizes that journalism is progressing in ways never before seen. Online publications and newspaper websites are becoming increasingly popular, taking attention away from traditional print publications.
“There’s not a great deal of opportunity to go in-depth online,” she said. “I want students today to be able to explore every avenue of journalism – both developing and old – so hopefully my gift will help contribute to that goal. I know my husband would have been pleased.
“After Bill and I were married,” she explained, “he placed a high priority on sending a check to Northeastern every year because, as a poor kid, he felt grateful to Northeastern for the opportunity to go to college. I thought that was so nice, and it just seemed completely natural to continue giving to Northeastern through planned gifts.
"That is why I've named Northeastern beneficiary of my retirement account and also set up a charitable gift annuity which pays me income for life. Ultimately, these funds will endow the William J. Leavitt Scholarship Fund, which will help aspiring journalism students.”