Read a biography of Dorothy Collins.

The Dorothy Collins Memorial Endowment
for student journalists at North Dakota State University

Dorothy often said she wanted to encourage students majoring in journalism and communication, and a number of times contributed to student scholarships locally. She particularly wanted to encourage students to work for their student newspaper, something she did herself as editor of the University of Washington Daily in 1953.

I hope to turn her wishes into a permanent legacy by establishing the Dorothy Collins Memorial Endowment at North Dakota State University. Funds from this endowment will be used to award scholarships for good-standing students majoring in communication with one unusual stipulation--they must be or have been staff members for the Spectrum, the university's student newspaper.

I think this is what my mother would like to see. Students who choose to work for a student newspaper seldom have room for part-time jobs. They sacrifice their free hours to journalism because they think it is important, the best way to gain practical experience they can use in the real media world. They usually don't get much acknowledgement from the university or other groups. In fact, because they publish a real newspaper, they are more likely to get criticism.

Scholarships from this endowment will offer recognition for these students, who make a real commitment to become media professionals. That reflects what my mother valued.

I hope you will consider making a contribution to the Dorothy Collins Memorial Endowment for student scholarships. You can write a check to the endowment and mail it directly to the NDSU Development Foundation, 1241 University Drive N., Fargo, N.D. 58102, or online at www.ndsufoundation.com. If you want to mail a donation to me, I can forward it to the foundation in your name. Of course, any donation to the foundation is tax deductible.

Thanks so much for considering making a gift toward Dorothy's permanent legacy as a pioneer in journalism. She worked for more than a half century to promote women in journalism, and to promote high ethical standards for all media people locally and regionally. She was our mentor, our relative, our friend, and my mother.

Ross F. Collins, professor of communication
Department of Communication,
Box 2310, North Dakota State University,
Fargo, ND 58108-6050.

Dorothy Collins Memorial Endowment award recipients

• 2012, Josie Tafelmeyer.
• 2013, Samuel Herder.
• 2014, Colton Pool.
• 2015, Allison Pillar.
• 2016, Erica Nitschke.

Now available!

Flowers Between the Frosts: How to Grow Great Gardens in Short Seasons

By Dorothy Collins, garden writer of the Red River Valley

Dorothy Collins must have liked a challenge. She became one of the Upper Midwest’s first female news writers. And living in one of the country’s toughest climates, she launched a column about gardening.

Her career as a writer and editor in Fargo, N.D., and Moorhead, Minn., lasted more than a half century. She produced many thousands of news and feature stories, plus some 2,800 garden columns.

The “strange twists” of northern climate gardening, as she called it, fascinated her to the very end of her life, as it fascinates so many of us. This practical book helps us garden better. Collins tackles just about everything, from annuals to wildflowers, from houseplants to herbs, from fruit to nurseries.

We have the opportunity to test our knowledge with horticulture quizzes, to plant by the signs of the zodiac, and to meet Mr. Greensnoop for some tough-love gardening advice.

“Did you ever think about the peace that is in the garden?” she wrote early in her career. “You can find there the same kind of tranquility as does a child who lies upon the grass in summer, gazing dreamily at the fluffy clouds floating lazily across the sky. Remember?”

Dorothy Collins, Flowers Between the Frosts: How to Grow Great Gardens in Short Seasons. Fargo: North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, 2012. Softcover, $14.95.

Note: All profits from the sale of this book will help to fund student scholarships through the Dorothy Collins Memorial Endowment.

To order online or by mail: North Dakota State University Press, North Dakota State University, Campus Box 2060, Fargo, ND 58108-6050.