Leaders from Peacemakers, Inc. presented UNT with $21,000 that they raised for the Vivian Castleberry Trailblazer Scholarship. Their vision is to award this to students who are going to go out into the world and make a difference like the scholarship's namesake.

Vivian Castleberry, Dallas icon and journalist, founded Peacemakers, Inc. in 1987. Vivian was the first woman named to the Dallas Times Herald's editorial board. During her leadership, she transformed the Living section by covering topics previously thought inappropriate for women's sections, such as domestic abuse, disabilities, breast cancer, and depression.

Vivian became a pacifist by experiencing the lifetime effect that wars had on her family after her father and brother came home. In 1988, she served as Chairwoman of Peacemaker's First International Women's Peace Conference, which was attended by over 2,000 women from 57 countries. As part of Peacemaker's, she traveled to Russia as a grassroots citizen diplomat. Her activism led to the 2010 founding of the Castleberry Peace Institute, which sponsors cutting-edge research and educational programs on the cause of war and peace.

Vivan was honored with numerous awards such as three Press Club of Dallas's "Katie" awards, two UPI awards, and the Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism's most prestigious honor, the C.E. Shuford Hall of Honor Award, to name a few. In 1984, she was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame. A documentary by KERA about Vivian can be found on their page as part of the Texas Trailblazer Series.

We are thrilled to be able to honor Vivian Castleberry's legacy through this scholarship and are grateful to everyone who donated towards this fund to date. To donate to The Vivian Castleberry Trailblazer Endowed Scholarship, please visit our Giving Page.