Bob Heisse, executive editor of River Valley Media Group in La Crosse, has donated $50,000 to endow a journalism scholarship for students at his alma mater, Pennsylvania State University, the school recently announced.
A Pennsylvania native, Heisse earned his bachelor’s degree from Penn State in 1979. He was a scholarship recipient himself as an undergraduate, something that helped inspire him to give back to the school.
The Bob Heisse Scholarship will be awarded to students with financial need in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.
Heisse has led the River Valley Media Group newsrooms since September, when he succeeded Rusty Cunningham, who retired after more than 40 years with Lee Enterprises. The group includes the La Crosse Tribune, The Chippewa Herald, and the Winona (Minn.) Daily News, along with several weekly publications.
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Prior to his move to La Crosse, Heisse served as executive editor of the Kenosha News for two years.
In previous editor roles, Heisse has worked at The Times of Northwest Indiana in Munster, the State Journal-Register in Springfield, Ill., The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa., and the Centre Daily Times in State College, Pa., home of Penn State.
