He wrote on behalf of a committee of 10. There can be no greater honor for a teacher than for his former students to found a scholarship in his name, giving opportunity to students of the future, said Hoar. I m touched and very pleased. Although not a student of Hoar s, Dr. Stuart Bullion, chair of the Department of Journalism, said Hoar has always practiced absolute expertise in his field. He remains totally devoted to the Ole Miss Department of Journalism, he said.
Tentative plans are to award the first scholarship next spring.
Hoar s former students and friends will be invited to an event sometime in coming months to publicly recognize the scholarship s establishment and its honoree. According to The University of Mississippi Foundation Office, this scholarship endowment is one of the fastest growing the office has seen. They are doing this out of gratitude for what Jere gave to journalism education, and because they want to support the department, he said. Hoar received a bachelor of science in agricultural journalism in 1951 from Auburn University and continued his education at Ole Miss to obtain a Master of Arts in journalism and English. He was awarded a doctorate in mass communications from the University of Iowa in 1960 and was also licensed to practice law in Mississippi by passing the bar examination in 1971 after completing a preceptorship with Freeland and Gafford Law Offices in Oxford.