Honoring a legacy of journalism

Chief Philanthropy Officer for UAA, Bobi Rinehart made a generous donation to The Northern Light, for which we are most appreciative.

Rinehart did not work much in journalism herself, but she has supported the journalism community for years through her philanthropic work. 

The donation was made in honor of Rinehart’s parents, Carolyn C. Rinehart and Robert P. Rinehart. The Northern Light met with Rinehart to learn more about her and her parents.

Rinehart said her mother started her own weekly neighborhood newspaper in Austin, Texas in third grade — The Rosedale Rocket — and ran the paper until eighth grade. 

She ran her high school newspaper and then her university’s paper — The Daily Texan at The University of Texas at Austin — during all four years of her attendance. Later, she made her career at the Anchorage Times.

Carolyn then worked for the Corps of Engineers and Technical Writing until she retired.

During this time, Carolyn also had a membership to the National Federation of Press Women for 45 years. 

While Rinehart’s father, Robert, was never a journalist, she said he expressed interest in individuality and freedom of the press.

Both of Rinehart’s parents were heavily involved in civil rights protests. 

As a reporter for the Anchorage Times, Carolyn Rinehart covered the merging of Anchorage Community College and UAA in 1988. With her mother’s reporting on the merging of institutions, Rinehart went to Scripps College in California.

Rinehart remembered her college days at Scripps in her dorm near the rec room. One day, she left her dorm to find students playing Scrabble. 

“My mom spent, like, my whole life kicking my ass at Scrabble,” said Rinehart. “She was really good with words.”

Through years of playing Scrabble with her mother, Rinehart developed an appreciation for writing. Although she ultimately chose a different career path, she has remained connected to the journalism community she grew up around.

Inspired by her mother’s lifelong dedication to journalism and her father’s support of press freedom, Rinehart’s donation has allowed The Northern Light to establish a foundation account. The account enables anyone to donate in support of student journalism at UAA.

The Northern Light extends its sincere gratitude to Bobi Rinehart and the Rinehart family for their generosity and lasting commitment to journalism.