A friendship that began in graduate school has resulted in a $500,000 gift for Wartburg College’s Transforming Tomorrow campaign.  

The funds will support student scholarships and grow the endowment—two priorities of the college’s $75 million comprehensive campaign.

The gift was made possible through the estate of Sanford “Sandy” Moss, who had established a charitable fund with Harold Kurtz, a 1958 Wartburg graduate, and Grace Jahn Kurtz, a 1961 graduate, as trustees. When Moss died in July 2014, the Kurtzes honored his memory and celebrated their friendship by establishing the Sanford “Sandy” Moss Journalism Scholarship and providing financial support for five other scholarship funds. 

“Sandy had indicated he was considering making a gift to Wartburg College,” Harold Kurtz said. “He knew of our longtime interest and support for the college, so we felt we were carrying out his wishes in making this gift.” 

In his early career, Moss was an assistant sports editor at a North Carolina newspaper. He then served as an intelligence specialist in the U.S. Army before enrolling at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he met fellow teaching assistant Harold Kurtz. While in graduate school, Moss began working for the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison. He went on to work at several other newspapers and held communications and consulting positions in the United States and Great Britain. 

The new scholarship will be awarded to journalism and communication students, with a preference given to rising juniors and seniors planning careers in news media.