Carin and Brian Lazarus

Brian Lazarus ’78 and Carin Carter Lazarus ’83 both have fond memories of their time at UMD. In addition to receiving excellent educations, UMD is where they met and married in Carin’s junior year. Carin majored in journalism, and Brian was part of the radio, television, and film program that was later absorbed into the journalism school.

Brian and Carin went on to found and operate a highly successful marketing agency, Media Star Promotions. Upon updating their estate plans, they reflected on UMD and decided to pay it forward and leave their own legacy. They have generously established an endowed journalism scholarship and included a bequest provision through their estate. The funds will support merit-based scholarships to recruit and retain the best undergraduate students in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

Their desire to invest in trustworthy, unbiased future journalists motivated them to make their donation. “A well-rounded education requires an understanding beyond today’s social media pundits and informational chunklets,” says Brian. “The ‘old-school’ notion of journalistic impartiality still holds great merit but requires an adherence to actual facts and the ability to listen to divergent opinions with openness and informed intellect,” adds Carin.