For Immediate Release
April 30, 2025
FOI Foundation announces Athena Tseng is recipient of Ralph Langer Scholarship
AUSTIN – Journalism student Athena Tseng of the University of Texas at Austin has beenselected to receive the 2025 Ralph Langer Scholarship awarded by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.
Tseng will receive a $6,000 scholarship for the 2025-26 academic year.
She is currently director of digital strategy for The Daily Texan at UT-Austin; a marketing and communications intern in the university’s Department of Computer Science; an engagement fellow for Texas Monthly; and editor of BurntxOrange, an alternative news site and digital-first student lifestyle magazine.
Tseng previously was The Daily Texan’s newsletter editor, a national writer for Her Campus USA and an intern for The Dallas Morning News.
“Athena Tseng is embarking on an impressive career through her news positions and other communication endeavors. We applaud her important work that ensures the public is well informed,” said Kelley Shannon, executive director of the FOI Foundation of Texas.
The scholarship for undergraduate journalism and photojournalism students was created in memory of Ralph Langer, a guiding light as the FOI Foundation formed and became the state’s leading voice on transparency and the First Amendment.
Langer, who died in August 2021, was executive editor and vice president of The Dallas Morning News before his retirement in the late 1990s. He led the newspaper to six Pulitzer Prizes. Langer was a president of the nonprofit FOI Foundation of Texas and served as the founding president of the National Freedom of Information Coalition. He continued to support the FOI Foundation of Texas by serving on the board of the FOI Supporting Foundation board until he passed away.
Kathy Langer, his wife of 61 years who has also been a dedicated volunteer with the FOI Foundation, provided a generous contribution to launch the Langer memorial scholarship starting with the 2023-24 academic year. She noted then that “Ralph’s professional life revolved around the importance of freedom of information and what it means to every American.”
Others have also contributed to the effort to honor Ralph Langer and assist today’s student journalists. Contributions continue to be accepted from the public.
The nonprofit FOI Foundation of Texas, founded in 1978, is dedicated to protecting the rights of free speech and free press and to enhancing the public’s right to know about government through access to records and meetings. For more information on the FOIFT’s scholarships and other programs go to www.foift.org.
Athena Tseng
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Contact: Kelley Shannon, Executive Director
Phone: 512-377-1575 Cell: 512-914-9222
Email: [email protected]