North Jersey Media Group Foundation/The Record Scholarship

For 25 years North Jersey Media Group staff worked closely with Ramapo College faculty member Helen Burchell to implement The Record Debate Classic. Each year debate team members from high schools throughout Bergen County competed in this prestigious event to hone their debating skills and build awareness of a timely public policy issue. Life-long learning, increasing the quality of public education and the ability to convey oneself effectively in the spoken and written word were very important to Helen Burchell. She was a member of Ramapo College’s founding faculty in teacher education and also served as director of academic outreach and grants advisor. In addition to coordinating The Record Debate Classic, Dr. Burchell served on the Donald and Flora Borg Merit Scholarship Award Committee, named for leaders of The Record. At Dr. Burchell’s death in 2005 the North Jersey Media Group Foundation made a generous commitment to the College in Helen’s memory, to be used for a scholarship for students in literature or journalism.