When longtime former professor Jane Harrigan received the Yankee Quill Award in October for contributions to New England journalism, she joined a procession of UNH Quill winners, including the one who nominated her.
The award dinner in Natick, Mass., began with a video tribute to Jon Kellogg ‘70, winner of multiple journalism awards around New England, who died in August. Kellogg’s widow, Tammalene Mitman ‘77, and friend and fellow The New Hampshire editor John Christie ‘70 — himself a Quill winner — were among attendees at the dinner.
In her speech, Harrigan said Kellogg changed her life by hiring her at the Associated Press when she moved to New Hampshire in 1979 and then remained a loyal friend for the next 36 years. “Once Jon believed in you, he had your back forever,” she said. Harrigan moved from the AP to the Concord Monitor and then to UNH, where she taught journalism from 1985 to 2008.
The Yankee Quill Award, considered the highest individual honor awarded by New England journalists, celebrates “broad influence for good over the course of a career.”
In addition to Kellogg, who won in 2004, and Christie (2014), UNH alumni recipients of the award are Mary Pat Rowland ’74 in 2010; Samuel Fleming ’76 in 2009; Barbara Walsh ’81 in 2007; Natalie Jacobson ’65 in 1997; and Don Murray ’48 in 1981.
Originally published in UNH Magazine—Fall 2015 Issue
