September 25, 2003

Obituary: Richard A. Schwarzlose

A memorial service for Richard A. Schwarzlose, professor of journalism, will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 28) in Alice Millar Chapel.

Mr. Schwarzlose, 66, a member of the Medill School of Journalism faculty since 1968, died June 14.

Medill's longest-tenured, full-time faculty member and a former associate dean, Mr. Schwarzlose was named a Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence in 2002. His “History and Issues of Journalism” course was required for all first-year Medill undergraduates.

Mr. Schwarzlose was the author of five books, including a two-volume history of American wire services, “The Nation's Newsbrokers.” He also wrote numerous articles on diverse topics such as freedom of the press and the impact of technological innovation on communication. He served as the chair of the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and chair of the National Historic Sites Committee of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Mr. Schwarzlose received the Northwestern University Alumni Association's Excellence in Teaching Award in 1991 and the Amoco Foundation Faculty Award in 1992.

He grew up in Champaign-Urbana and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana, where he earned a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1959, a master's in political science in 1960 and a doctorate in communications in 1965. While attending college, he spent six years working for the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette.

He taught basic news writing and reporting part-time while earning his doctorate, and then was named assistant professor at Purdue University, where he helped develop a journalism program in the English department.

Mr. Schwarzlose is survived by his wife of 40 years, Sally; a son, Daniel; and a daughter, Rebecca.