Ross Hazeltine, BS’38 (business), set up the Ross Hazeltine Travel Scholarship as part of his estate to send those with freshly-minted degrees outside North America to better understand other cultures.
Since its inception in 1978, the scholarship has taken alumni to nearly all continents to photograph and write about life in other countries.
As a student, Hazeltine worked for the Arbutus and IDS, and, after collecting his business degree, wrote for United Press in Chicago and worked for the Washington Bureau of the Indianapolis News.
But his own overseas “study” began when World War II started and Hazeltine became a public relations officer who worked with correspondents, facilitating their work and often accompanying them on assignments.
Several of his own dispatches appeared in the Columbus Republic and Indianapolis Times and News, where he recounted a close call near the frontlines in France and his experiences working at the same headquarters as Ernie Pyle.
Hazeltine returned after the war to continue his work. He died in 1975, directing his estate to fund the travel scholarship.