Endowed Scholarship Named for Michael J. Feeney

The family and friends of Michael J. Feeney came together in a big way in the week following his unexpected Jan. 31 death, raising enough money to create an endowed scholarship at Delaware State University in the esteemed alumnus’ name.

During both the Feb. 8 and Feb. 9 funerals held in New York City and Englewood, N.J., respectively, the newly created $10,000 Michael J. Feeney Memorial Endowed Scholarship was announced to the large gatherings assembled.

The Feeney Endowed Scholarship will be available to DSU sophomores, juniors or seniors majoring in mass communications who have an overall GPA of 3.25 or higher. Financial need will be priority consideration in the awarding of the scholarship.

Dr. Harry L. Williams, DSU president, said the endowed scholarship in the name of Mr. Feeney will be a lasting and loving tribute to his character and to the dynamic, far-reaching impact of his life. 

“We should all hope to live in such a way that will plant seeds that produce long after our spirits have flown,” Dr. Williams said. “Because he was all about being a positive force in the lives of his fellow Hornets and others, I am certain Michael would be proud to know that his legacy of giving will be honored in this significant and impactful manner.”

The endowed scholarship became a reality after 573 donors responded to an online fundraiser spearheaded by Mr. Feeney’s classmates and family, raising (as of Feb. 10) over $27,000 that went to the funeral costs and the endowed scholarship.

Additional donations to the Feeney Endowed Scholarship can be made online on the DSU Development webpage at http://www.desu.edu/mjfendowment.

Mr. Feeney, Class of 2005, was an editor-in-chief of the DSU Hornet newspaper. After his graduation with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications/Print Journalism, he was immediately hired by the Associated Press. Over the next 10 years, Mr. Feeney would write for The Record of Bergen County and the New York Daily News. He was at the latter newspaper in 2010 when he was awarded the Emerging Journalist of the Year Award from the National Association of Black Journalists.

He was slated to soon begin a new job as an entertainment reporter for CNN.com in Atlanta, Ga., which his untimely death robbed him of at age 32.

The huge outpouring of expressions of love were in great evidence at the two large church sites of the funerals – on Feb. 8 at the First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem, N.Y., and on Feb. 9 at the Community Baptist Church of Englewood, N.J. The exceptionally large sanctuaries of both churches were filled to near capacity, in large part due to the more than estimated 600 DSU alumni (mostly young alums) who came to pay their respects to their fellow Del State Hornet.

In his eulogy, Community Baptist Church Pastor Rev. Dr. Lester Taylor, Jr., noted that some folks were expressing sadness that Mr. Feeney had passed away at the young age of 32.

“Jesus only needed 33 years, and He turned this world upside down,” the Rev. Taylor said. “(At 32 years) it looks like Mike did alright… it was long enough to make an impact.”  

The entire Feb. 9 funeral service can been seen via a live stream recording on the Community Baptist Church’s website at http://www.cbcofe.org/services.php#live.

Among his accomplishments as a journalist, a recurring theme during both funerals was Mr. Feeney’s passion for helping others, especially in sharing his experience and knowledge with students majoring in mass communications and others striving to make it as successful media professionals.

Many comments were also made about the numerous NY Daily News articles written by Mr. Feeney, especially pieces that gave a voice to the common men and women, while at the same time incurring the anger of those in power over his coverage.

Perhaps Cheryl Willis, Channel NY1 News Anchor, summed it up as well as anyone when she noted that Mr. Feeney an extraordinary young man. “This brother was a soldier and he wasn’t afraid to stand on the front lines of the battle,” said Ms. Willis, who served as vice president when Mike was the president of the New York Association of Black Journalists. “He wasn’t afraid to say something if he saw something. Whatever the risk, he was willing to take it.”