Kate Hyland, a double major in public relations and French in the Diederich College of Communication, has been awarded the 2022-23 James Foley Fellowship by the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation.
Hyland’s application stood out to the Foley Foundation among a strong candidate pool thanks to her academic record and interest in James Foley’s vision of moral courage. As Foley said, “For some reason I have physical courage but really if you think about it, that is nothing compared to moral courage. I can go and get those shots but if I do not have the moral courage to challenge authority, to write about things that may have reprisals on my career, we do not have journalism.”
“As a member of the Foley Foundation’s board of directors, I am excited to welcome Kate Hyland as the 2022-23 James Foley Fellow at Marquette University,” said Rana Altenburg, associate vice president of public affairs at Marquette. “The James Foley Fellowship continues to strengthen the longstanding partnership between the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation and Marquette University, providing an incredible opportunity for aspiring journalists to gain first-hand experience that is steeped in the values of public service and moral courage.”
The Foley Foundation was created in 2014 to honor the legacy of James Foley, a graduate of Marquette and a freelance journalist who was captured and beheaded by ISIS in Syria in 2014. The foundation is dedicated to advocating for the freedom of all Americans kidnapped and wrongfully detained abroad, improving U.S. hostage policy and offering preventive journalist safety curricula.
The Foley Foundation also supports current and future journalists by offering journalist safety curricula, participating in conferences and on panels about journalism safety, collaborating with Head Set to offer safety training utilizing VR technology and working with journalism organizations around the world. The Foundation is preparing to launch a preventive Traveler Safety Guide this fall to help prepare students studying abroad as well as those traveling for business or pleasure.
As the Foley Fellow, Hyland will be working directly with Tom Durkin, who serves as education program director for the Foley Foundation as well as research and grant coordinator for Marquette’s Center for Peacemaking. With her background in public relations and recent experience traveling and studying abroad in Dublin, Hyland is well suited to assist with the Foley Foundation’s programs on journalism and traveler safety. Hyland’s initial projects also involve promoting this year’s Foley Freedom Run, which takes place virtually around the world on Saturday, Oct. 15, including on Marquette’s campus.
The Marquette Foley Fellowship is funded by the generosity of the James P. Ruder Foundation. The Ruder family, including Suzy and her children, Matt (MU ’94), Megan (MU ’97), and Chris (MU ’97), are staunch supporters of the Foley Foundation and Marquette’s Center for Peacemaking.