Thanks to employees at Roll Call Inc., a scholarship has been established in memory of Damon M. Chappie.

Chappie, a reporter at The Daily Collegian before he graduated from Penn State in 1987, died of congestive heart failure and other health problems Nov. 5, 2004, in Washington Home, Washington, DC. At the time of his death he was an investigative reporter for Roll Call.

The Damon M. Chappie Memorial Award in Investigative Journalism will be distributed annual to "honor and recognize outstanding achievement by an undergraduate or graduate student who is a promising reporter" for the Collegian, according to guidelines announced by Penn State.

The guidelines further state that the scholarship will go to reporters who "use investigative journalism to champion open government and hold entities accountable for their actions" through articles published in the Collegian. The guidelines require that the College of Communications Selection Committee make the award upon the recommendation of the Collegian news adviser.

The Selection Committee will also determine the number of awards and amount of each.

The initial principal of the fund is $25,000 and was donated by employees of Roll Call, as well as friends and associates of Damon Chappie.

"Thank you again for your assistance in establishing this award at Penn State," University President Graham Spanier told donors in his acceptance letter. "The employees of Roll Call Inc. are a part of the tradition of philanthrophy that has grown and strengthened our university from its beginning, and will continue to serve us far into the future."

Collegian News Adviser John Harvey expressed gratitude for the award.

"This scholarship has special meaning for me because it encourages young journalists to dig, to serve their civic duty as watchdogs upon our government. This highlights the need to teach our young reporters the value of open government. There is no more appropriate time than now to get that message across."