bob adam's retirement

Leaving a Legacy

MR. A RETIRES AFTER 46 YEARS

LEAVING A LEGACY

The Talisman yearbook publishes its first edition with T.O. Hall as the editor.

1924

Jan. 29, 1925The first issue of The College Heights Herald announces the newspaper’s beginning. With this, journalism at WKU began. Frances Richards was named the first Herald editor. After the Herald received the keys to its first home in the basement of Van Meter, the volunteer staff of about 20 began immediately to produce the first of three eight-page newspapers planned for the year.

22

1926Frances Richards was the only journalism teacher at WKU and served as Herald adviser. Affectionately known as a “gracious lady,” she served as adviser for 38 years.

MR. A

ROBERT “MR. A” ADAMS' RETIREMENT RECEPTION

Friday, April 27, 2012

Schedule of Events

4 p.m. – MMTH Auditorium

WelcomeDr. Richard Miller, Vice Provost

President Gary Ransdell

Feature Presentation

Presentation of GiftsStudent Publications staff, alumni and students

The gallery “Leaving a Legacy” is open in MMTH and we invite you to enjoy the exhibit and celebrate Mr. A.

Special Section & Timeline Staff:Kayla Golliher, Michelle Child, Jonathan Lintner, Natasha Simmons, Monica Spees, Emily Ulber, Chris Wilson, Sam Oldenberg, Sara Taylor, Alex

Weires, Ashley Wittenborn

Video Tribute Production Team:Ben Severance, Dillon Ward, Chelsea Harman,

Chris Wilson

SJ&B faculty and staff and numerous campus offi ces for helping with organizing, set-up,

gallery, parking and other support.

And to all of the alumni who contributed content (even if we didn't use it), we appreciate your

willingness to help.

A well-deserved thank you is extended to all those who helped make today's event possible.

We are honored to have been a part of this celebration. Student Publications Offi ce Staff

33Commitment to students builds lifelong friendships Ask Bob Adams about a former College

Heights Herald or Talisman staffer — a designer who spent a semester or two

working for the paper, a reporter who worked his or her way to editor-in-chief, a photographer, a copy editor.

Immediately, he’ll recall the positions they held with Student Publications and what they’re doing now, whether they’ve been gone a couple of months or a couple of decades.

“There are a lot of people I consider to be friends,” said Adams, or Mr. A, as he’s more affectionately known. “It’s always been much of a family atmosphere [here].”

And today, members of that family will gather on the Hill to celebrate the 46-year career of the man who has made their success, both in and out of the newsroom, his priority.

Adams, an associate journalism professor and the director of Student Publications, joined the Herald staff as a student in 1962. He was named editor in 1964 and became the paper’s adviser in 1968. He has been director of Student Publications, which includes the Herald and Talisman, since 1990, and during his tenure, the Herald and Talisman have won, combined, more than two dozen national Pacemaker awards from the Associated Collegiate Press and nearly as many Columbia Scholastic Press Gold and Silver Crowns. The Herald was inducted into the ACP Hall of Fame in 1989, and the Talisman followed suit in 2009. More than 20 of his students have been part of Pulitzer Prize winning teams.

continued on next page

The Herald moves to twice-monthly publication.

October 1931

Sept. 27, 1933After several issues had been published at irregular times, the Herald begins receiving funds from registration fees for student publications.

The Herald becomes a tabloid.

1940

LEAVING A LEGACY

Adams, who also worked for the Daily News in Bowling Green and has experience as a publisher at newspapers around Kentucky and Tennessee, was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame in 2005 and the College Media Advisers Hall of Fame in 2006.

And in January 2008, the publications that he and his students worked so hard on found a permanent home in the $1.6 million Adams-Whitaker Student Publications Center, named for Adams and late David B. Whitaker, who served as Student Publications director from 1970 to 1987.

Personal accomplishments aside, Adams spent the last four decades helping his students land summer internships and full-time jobs — at small-town weeklies, mid-size dailies and even some of the nation’s top newspapers, including The Washington Post, The New York Times and USA Today.

Andrew Robinson, the 2009-2010 Herald editor, works as a reporter at Business First of Louisville. He said Adams always had patience with and support for his students.

“The support he’s provided me not only as a journalist, but as a person, was more than I could ever ask for,” Robinson said.

He recalled many late nights at the Herald offi ce when the students would work on the paper until 2 or 3 a.m. Adams was always there with his offi ce door open and his light on.

That mentality, Robinson said, didn’t change after his graduation.“He’s there for us,” Robinson said. “He’s in his offi ce. That door’s

open, whether you’ve been gone two weeks or 20 years.”continued on next page

1951Frances Richards starts the Homecoming Breakfast tradition.

The Herald expands to weekly distribution.

June 30, 1961

1962A second journalism class is added to the curriculum. Before this, production of the student newspaper and a single journalism class made up news reporting activities.

"- Andrew Robinson

That door's open, whether you've been gone two weeks or 20 years."

LEAVING A LEGACY44

That sentiment rings true for Ashlee Clark Thompson, the 2006-2007 Herald editor who spent a few years after graduation as a reporter for The Lexington Herald-Leader and now works as a technical pharmacy communications analyst at Humana in Louisville.

“I feel like Mr. A’s love for the students is very unconditional,” she said. “It doesn’t depend on us being reporters, it doesn’t depend on us still being on the paper — he cares about us being happy. He cares about us being fulfi lled. I mean, Mr. A came to my wedding. That’s the kind of guy he is.”

She said Adams was the fi rst person outside of her family who really pushed her to succeed.

“He saw something in me that I don’t really think I saw in myself,” Thompson said.

To this day, she calls Adams her “biggest cheerleader.”

“Having a person like that in your corner, it makes a huge impact on your life, because you know there’s someone

who still loves you and still cares about you, even if you change jobs, or even if you don’t succeed — even if you fail,” she said. “He’s still going to be there for you and he’s going to help you back up.”

Adams’ wife of almost 13 years, Sandy, said her husband doesn’t put on a show at work, and he has a “kind, gentle, big heart.”

“His love and wanting to help people — it’s genuine.”

Adams loves his work, Sandy said. Even when she said she tells him the students at the Herald can “put the paper to bed just fi ne” without him, he stays at the offi ce because that’s what he’s always done.

Adams said the hardest thing for him will be trying to cut ties with his current students and those who would start in the fall.

“That’s one of the reasons I’ve been reluctant to do it,” Adams said, tearing up, “…Every day I look forward to going to work, and as long as you can do that and work with great students and so forth, what’s better?”

Bob Adams joins the staff of the College Heights Herald as a reporter during his first journalism class at WKU.

1962

1964The university creates the Office of University Publications (now Student Publications) and makes it responsible for the Herald and Talisman.

Adams, a native of Danville, Ill., serves as Herald editor of the College Heights Herald.

1964-65

"- Ashlee Clark Thompson

...Mr. A came to my wedding. That's the kind of guy he is."

55LEAVING A LEGACY

I’ve had a hard time with this assignment. There are so many clichés about retirement. My favorite involves “throwing away the mold.” I appreciate the sentiment; there will never be another Bob Adams. But if there actually was a mold, how cool would it be to have a casting of Mr. A in the offi ce? (Note to WKU fundraisers: Make casting of Bob Adams a premium gift for donors.) My feelings about Mr. A’s retirement are probably different from many of his graduates’ feelings. As the newspaper adviser at the University of Kentucky, I still talk to the guy every week. He’s still my adviser. So his retirement

feels more like graduation, and it makes that recurring dream I have about missing too many classes to graduate seem more like reality than nightmare. But it’s not a dream. Mr. A is retiring, and no one cliché adequately describes the feelings all of us have trying to picture the Herald without him. I’ve certainly not been able to articulate it very well. Several times now, I’ve been recruited to speak for or about Mr. A – when he was inducted into the College Media Advisers’ Hall of Fame and when he was awarded lifetime membership to CMA, to name a couple. On both of those occasions, I sobbed just before

the points in my speeches where everyone would have been impressed at how brilliantly I described why Mr. A is a great adviser.

If I had made it through them, I would have tried, frankly, to explain why it was so hard to put into words what Mr. A’s work has meant to so many of us. We’ve tried to use comparisons: He’s like a sheep dog, always nudging you in the right direction. He’s like a father or uncle. He’s an unlicensed psychologist.

But in the end, through all of the awards and accomplishments, all of the accolades and clichés, I’m betting every Herald graduate’s

most meaningful memories sound something like mine.

Back when I was in school, and sat in his offi ce to talk to him about the Herald, about a story, about my life...it didn’t matter how busy he was, I could always tell he was listening and cared.

Since graduation, he’s been to so many of our weddings, funerals, retirements and awards dinners.

Back in March, when I presented Mr. A with CMA’s lifetime achievement award, it felt altogether fi tting; after all, he’s contributed so much to so many lives.

I will always cherish that he’s been such a big part of mine.

Mr. A is 'still my adviser' — Chris Poore

Poore is The Kentucky Kernel adviser and was the 1991 College Heights Herald editor.

ALUMNI in their words

I came to Western (yes, Western, not WKU) after two years at Jefferson Community College in Louisville. My plan had been to transfer to UK, but during my last semester at JCC, my journalism professor said to me, “If you’re serious about journalism, you need to go to Western, and I know someone you need to talk to.” That someone was Mr. A.

When I got to Western, I was surrounded by a ton of mega-talented student journalists. I felt

behind the game. Others at the Herald already had internships and lots of experience under their belts. I was intimidated.

I worked four semesters at the Herald, three on the copy desk and two of those as copy chief. I had a couple of internships, too, but I wasn’t a standout.

Still, Mr. A has kept up with me and my career. A few summers ago, he brought a group of high school students to The Tennessean, where

I’ve worked since 2002. Without prodding from me, Mr. A knew how long I had been at the paper and that I had previously worked at the Naples Daily News. It made me feel special, even though I know there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of other students whom he’s kept up with for decades.

I learned a lot from Mr. A, like the importance of making deadline. (He once gave me a B on a paper that otherwise would have been an A,

had I not turned it in late.) He taught me about creativity and teamwork. But most importantly, he taught me that you don’t have to break a story or do investigative work, or even have a byline, to make a difference. His legacy will be one of love — for his craft, for his school and most of all for us students.

Grigsby is The Tennessean news editor and a 1998 graduate of Western Kentucky University.

— Karen Grigsby‘His legacy will be one of love’

Western Kentucky State college is elevated to university status, and the Herald releases a special edition by 5 p.m. on Friday. The extra was the first in the 41-year history of the paper.

Feb. 25, 1966

1966Adams joins the university full-time as an instructor in the English department.

Adams becomes assistant adviser to the Herald.

1968

LEAVING A LEGACY66

Bob Adams is a sneaky man.As a junior at Western in the spring

2002 semester, I was tired. I had put in three solid years on the Herald staff—three semesters as a reporter and designer and three semesters as the design editor, including the previous fall when I was lucky enough to be part of the award-winning Sept. 11 special edition. It had been a long three years, and I wanted to take a break my senior year and just cruise through. So I decided not to be part of the Herald staff. I was excited about my decision; Mr. A was not.

That spring, he told me he wanted to bring back the Talisman. I thought it was a great idea and agreed to help with some of the preliminary plans to get it rolling. Mr. A wanted me to be the editor-in-chief. I declined. As I told him, I wanted to take it easy my senior year and have a little fun before I joined the real world. He claimed to understand and said he’d start looking for someone else. I followed

through on my promise and helped with the preliminary plans to bring the Talisman back.

During the summer before my senior year, I repeatedly told him I would not be the editor. He repeatedly told me he was looking for someone else. Then the fall 2002 semester started and Mr. A asked me to help him host a meeting for students interested in working on the Talisman. The conversation that followed went something like this:

“So did you fi nd an editor yet?” I asked.

“I did,” he said and looked at me over the top of his glasses like he sometimes liked to do.

“Who?” I asked, pleasantly surprised.No reply.I sighed.“I’m gonna have to do it, aren’t I?” I

said.He smiled. “I was hoping you’d come

around.”

He’s sneaky. But he’s wise. Being the fi rst editor of the resurrected Talisman was an incredible experience and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Mr. A recognizes a student’s potential and makes sure they live up to it. It’s his gift. One that I’m grateful he used on me.

I used to say that he was my dad away from home. He was the one that gave me rides back to my dorm on production nights. He was there to console me for the long hours when I thought my uncle was at the Pentagon for a meeting the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. And when we went to a conference in New Orleans and I was the only student who wanted to take one night away from Bourbon Street, Mr. A took me for coffee at Café DuMonde and to listen to jazz at Preservation Hall.

He was my teacher, my mentor, my friend. He is kind, thoughtful, intelligent and inspirational.

Oh, and he’s sneaky. But I like that about him, too.

‘He was my teacher, my mentor, my friend’

Queen is the art director for Time Out Chicago magazine and was editor of the 2002-2003 Talisman, which was the fi rst published after a six-year hiatus.

— Stephanie Gladney Queen

Sept. 18, 1969The Herald increases to a twice-weekly publication and becomes a tabloid.

Journalism and Broadcasting emerge from the Department of English into a Department of Mass Communications.

June 1, 1970

Fall 1970David B. Whitaker, a veteran Courier-Journal employee, replaces Jody Richards. Whitaker served as Herald editor during the 1942-43 school year and again in 1947-48 after returning from active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps.

ALUMNI in their words 77LEAVING A LEGACY

'I owe him' — Thomas GeorgeIn 1977, the Paducah Tilghman Bell staff

hopped into our teacher’s car and headed to Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. There was a high school journalism workshop offered. It was regarded as one of the nation’s best. We were all excited. And my instincts told me that this was a special trip.

Though journalism was a love, so, too, was psychology. I was going to be a journalist or a psychiatrist. Yes, this trip, this experience would help decide my future. This would be revealing. This would be enlightening.

I never imagined that it would be so much fun.

And that I would meet Bob Adams there.He was an instructor and his class was all

about writing, the best writing, how to make stories fl ow and sing. He was funny and he was good. He was friendly and he was sincere.

He was inspiring.I would graduate the following year

and narrow my college choices to USC, Vanderbilt and Western. Something about Western and the College Heights Herald just felt right. Something about Bob Adams seemed signifi cant.

During the past 34 years, I grew to understand it. It goes beyond the wisdom, the detail-oriented instruction, the patience and the passion he always exhibited as a teacher and leader. It was the way he made students

embrace that they mattered. The way he listened. The advice he imparted.

I will always remember enrolling at Western in 1978 and being blessed with seven journalism scholarships that took care of all of my obligations and left me with more money than I had ever seen or owned. And I remember telling Bob that I was going to take it to my room and put it away. And he said, “Hey, why don’t you put that in the bank?” And I told him I did not know how to do that. He said he would show me. He took me. He helped me.

I owe him.My writing career has taken me to great

places, big places and across the globe. But for 34 years Bob Adams has been a constant, a listening ear, a true mentor...a great friend.

I owe him.I congratulate him on his retirement.

Thank you, Bob.Forever Mr. A.I remember Ball State as if it were

yesterday. And the glorious moments we have shared since.

A psychiatrist could not wholly analyze it. There is no check that could cover it all.

For you, for me, for all those you have touched Bob, what an extraordinary story.

What a blast. What a ball.Much love,Thomas

George worked at the College Heights Herald from 1978 to 1982 and has been a sports columnist/writer at the Detroit Free Press, New York Times, Denver Post, NFL.com, AOL and NFL Magazine and was the NFL Network’s fi rst managing editor. He is currently writing his third book, which will be published this fall.

It’s funny that I’m in the business of words and visuals – and now audio and video and blogging as I digress – but I can’t sum up my relationship with Mr. Adams in a few words. He gave me my start in this business at a high school journalism workshop and then a $400 scholarship to go to Western Kentucky University. He was there when I needed help making decisions about jobs. He was there when I needed money to eat a meal or pay for rent. And he was there just to listen about anything. So there really isn’t anything I can do to pay him back for all he’s meant to me – except to say that I’m lucky that he was in my life.

'I'm lucky that he was in my life'

Hoppes is senior director of entertainment and commentary for ESPN and former Herald staff er.

— Lynn Hoppes

Under the direction of adviser Paul Schuhmann, the Talisman staff sets out to forever change the publication “to cover the students’ lives in the university and their thoughts and feelings about the world as a whole.” The publication was divided into two volumes with one section focusing on student life, while the other serves more as a “reference book.”

1971

Oct 16. 1971The Herald publishes for the first time using process color.

Herald and Talisman offices move to the lower level of Downing University Center.

1972

ALUMNI in their wordsLEAVING A LEGACY88

Anyone who has worked with Mr. A for even a short amount of time is bound to have at least

one story of an impacted life. Most of the time it involved him going out of his way to help in a way far more than any of us could expect.

Because of this, it’s hard to narro w Mr. A to just one adjective or term, though many come to mind: advocate, devoted and friend.

The Herald has always been a paper run by the students, the director is here to guide us, and that is one of the things we appreciate and will miss the most about Mr. A: He let us make our own decisions.

There are so many of us who wouldn’t have gotten jobs or internships without the assistance of Mr. A. He knows every-one. And because of that, we’ve all ben-efited. In addition, Mr. A keeps up with almost every person who has worked at the Herald. For 46 years, that’s not only impressive, but also inspiring. We all can only hope to find a career and form the lasting relationships and impressions Mr. A has formed. He’s set the standard for how to truly work with others.

He’s been our biggest supporter.

Whenever we were in a difficult spot for a story or a decision, he would be the first person we went to for advice, and just like a classic Yoda he would give us the guidance needed to make it.

Most of all, Mr. A has a special, almost magical, way of talking to us. It’s a combination of gentleness and firmness that makes him the emphatic person we need in the stressful and dif-ficult times life brings us.

Mr. A has always helped us to remem-ber the importance of putting out good content. The thousands of awards, mul-tiple Pacemakers and Golden Crowns are just bonuses. It’s never been about awards or recognition for Mr. A. His reward comes from seeing his students succeed during and after their time at Student Publications. We are forever grateful to have been able to work with a man with his sensitivity and know-how.

One of the things we joke about is how at the end-of-the-semester banquet Mr. A has the tendency to go on and on, but maybe he goes on and on at the banquets because he’s delaying the tears that come when he says goodbye to the seniors. But he always tops it off with

one of the best hugs any of us will ever get. We fully expect that by the end of the semester, we’ll be shedding tears alongside our mentor.

It’s rare to meet an absolutely genu-ine person. Yet, that’s what Mr. A is. He’s full of compassion and selfless-ness. He not only taught us how to get through difficult times and do good work, but also how to be a good human being.

Thanks for everything, Mr. A. You’ve made a lifelong impact on all of us.

'We'll miss the hugs'— Spring 2012 Editorial Board

Under adviser Roger Loewen, the Talisman begins winning national awards with five back-to-back Trendsetter Awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

1974

Oct. 25, 1975The Board of Regents approves a bachelor of arts in journalism.

The dissolution of the Department of Mass Communication is approved, effective Jan. 1, 1977, and the Department of Journalism is established. David Whitaker, director of University Publications, is also named head of the journalism program.

Dec. 17, 1976

STUDENTS in their words 99LEAVING A LEGACY

Herald, Adams avoid possible censorshipBob Adams has helped WKU

students report and write the news for more than 40 years. But during

a monthlong span in the spring of 1988, Adams and his students became the news.

On March 15 of that year, then-President Kern Alexander proposed major changes to what was then called the Offi ce of University Publications, despite an ad hoc faculty committee’s conclusions that few were needed. Among Alexander’s suggestions was to install faculty editors and replace advisers at the College Heights Herald newspaper and Talisman yearbook.

“It was a pretty rough time,” said Adams, who then served as Herald adviser and acting director of publications following David Whitaker’s retirement. “It didn’t last very long. It just seemed like it did.”

Alexander’s proposals to gain more administrative control over publications included, in addition to faculty editors:

-Adding more faculty and administrators to the publications

committee that would appoint faculty editors, who would then select student editors.

-Students working for publications would receive academic credit as opposed to being paid for up to 15 hours of work a week, limiting how many semesters they could work. Alexander compared the paper to a chemistry lab, saying, “You don’t pay basketball players; you give them scholarships.”

-The publications offi ce would be repositioned under Academic Affairs as it was before 1970. In 1988, it was reporting to the dean of Potter College.

Those plans came after Alexander, who in the past had called the Herald “cynical” and “gossipy,” said, “I don’t see any problems with the newspaper now at all.” Neither did the Associated Collegiate Press, which awarded the Herald National Pacemakers (its top award) in 1981, 1982 and 1984. The Talisman had also won similar national awards every year since the 1970s.


1978Adams is awarded the Distinguished Newspaper Adviser Award from the National Council of College Publications Advisers (now CMA).

The new Department of Journalism receives accreditation from the American Council on Journalism Education.

1979

1981The Herald wins its first National Pacemaker Award from the Associated Collegiate Press.

LEAVING A LEGACY1010

Alexander wanted his recommendations in place by the fall semester even as he had to squelch discussions that he was censoring student publications, which give editorial control to the students themselves.

“We of course saw that as an attempt at censorship because he didn’t like some of the things we reported in the paper,” said Carla Carlton, the Herald’s editor during the 1987-1988 year.

In Alexander’s two-plus years as WKU’s president, the Herald covered his controversial plans to establish a Glasgow campus, faculty concerns over his administrative appointments and his absence at a meeting between university presidents and then-Kentucky Gov. Wallace Wilkinson to discuss budgets for higher education.

What may have sent Alexander over the edge, according to a March 17, 1988, article in The Tennessean, was coverage of Alexander’s divorce proceedings.

“It was handled as a statement of fact and was non-sensational,” Jo-Ann Albers, then WKU’s journalism department head, told The Tennessean. “I’m sure he felt that his divorce was none of the paper’s business.”

Alexander’s proposals concerning student publications and the ensuing backlash became instant news, appearing in daily papers throughout the state and surrounding region.

While both Carlton and Adams served as spokespeople for stories, they both, at times, took a hands-off approach to producing the paper.

“After the allegation was made that (Adams) was running the show, he wanted to be very clear he wasn’t doing that,” Carlton said. “We decided that he just needed to stay out of the newsroom so nobody would accuse him of, ‘He’s telling them what to write or what to say.’”

The Louisville Courier-Journal reported that with concerns about the paper’s future, students were tasked with how to cover a story about themselves. The paper quoted a student in the newsroom who asked, “What are we supposed to do?”

“Be responsible journalists,” Albers answered.In large part because of Adams, that tradition never stopped.


Summer 1982The Xposure Journalism Workshop, formerly the Dow Jones High School Minority Journalism Workshop, is created by Adams and Jim Highland as a two-week experience designed to ensure diversity in the field of journalism.

The Talisman wins its first Gold Crown from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

1982

Oct. 3, 1984The Herald and Talisman offices move to Garrett Conference Center.

1111LEAVING A LEGACY

“I wouldn’t want the Kern Alexander episode to identify or defi ne Bob Adams’ legacy,” Albers said. “It’s much bigger than one little controversy, or one big controversy as it turned out to be. I think his legacy is the quality of people who went out to work in the media.”

Many of the journalists Adams had advised as students since 1968 stood up for publications’ right to stay independent of the university.

“Because we all know he keeps in contact with everyone forever,”

Carlton said.The Student Publications

Alumni Association addressed multiple letters to Alexander asking him to explain his proposals in more detail. Alumni also drew a connection to the Supreme Court’s Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier decision — it allows high school principals to censor newspapers — as something Alexander could bring to the university level starting at WKU. One letter cited a 1984 book that Alexander co-wrote.

“Certainly, the school can control

the content of school newspapers where a teacher or the principal edits the newspaper and directly controls its content,” said the book, The Law of Schools, Students and Teachers.

In the meantime, WKU students made 1988 look like 1968 in a march and rally on campus in support of publications’ rights. A fact-fi nding panel assembled by the Society of Professional Journalists concluded in a report that the public’s reaction softened Alexander’s stance.

“It is impossible to tell if President Alexander really did want to control student publications, turn the newspaper into a mouthpiece,” the report reads. It later adds, “Prompt reaction and loud cries may have scared off a potential censor.”

Alexander, now a faculty member at the University of Illinois,

didn’t return multiple requests for comment on this story. He did tell the Park City Daily News on March 17, 1988, “There have been some world records established as far as leaps to conclusion” about censorship, adding “I have never heard such wild conjecture as I have heard (about this).”

Alexander questioned the Herald’s fi scal responsibility when Albers interviewed at WKU. The paper sent a reporter and photographer to the University of Florida, where Alexander previously taught, when WKU hired him.

“Clearly,” Albers said, “if he thought they shouldn’t spend the money on that, it was the fi rst indication to me that he didn’t understand the mission of a newspaper.”


1987David Whitaker retires and Adams is named interim director of University Publications.

1988President Kern Alexander suggests there be faculty editors over the student editors in order to govern the content of the Herald; the actions seem to be a result of his own displeasure with the coverage of his actions as president. Many disagree and think that the Herald should remain a student paper. Alexander’s proposal leads to protest as a former Herald alumni and students gather on campus together in a march for freedom of speech. Alexander resigns soon after.

1989The Herald is inducted into the ACP Hall of Fame.

"- Jo-Ann Albers

I think his legacy is the quality of people who went out to work in the media"


Whitaker, who served a dual role as the journalism department head and publications director before his retirement less than a year before the Alexander fi asco, said in an April 2, 1988, Editor & Publisher article that Adams was the main target in the WKU president’s push for administrative control over the independent paper.

“He was the paper’s adviser during a lot of those stories and Alexander thinks he had something to do with it,” Whitaker said. “Well, Alexander should know that Robert Adams was once picked as the distinguished newspaper adviser in the country.”

Adams shot back at Alexander in that same Editor & Publisher article over a comment in which the president accused journalism faculty of turning a fi scal accountability matter into one centered around freedom of the press.

The shift in Alexander’s focus, Adams said, was “the most incredible thing that had been said during the most incredible week.”

On April 11, 1988, while

denying that any controversies played a part, Alexander announced plans to leave WKU to become a distinguished professor at Virginia Tech. The news provided reason to celebrate at the Herald offi ce.

“I distinctly remember Bob Adams walking in,” said Chris Poore, then a sophomore reporter at the Herald. “He came in…carrying this big bag of stuff, and then we realized it was champagne.

“We all started laughing, and I think clapping. I don’t remember. Maybe I had too much of that champagne.”

After Alexander left, the publications review continued, Albers said, even as new president Thomas Meredith arrived at WKU.

“I think Meredith wanted to wait until tempers died down or emotions calmed,” Albers said.

Recommendations were eventually enacted that made publications work much like it does today — just not yet in the $1.6 million Adams-Whitaker Student Publications Center. It was renamed to the Offi ce of

Student Publications, and the Student Publications Committee expanded to include more campus bodies.

Other operations maintained status quo.

“After all that happened,” Adams said, “I don’t think anybody would try to change the structure at this point.”

As if the Herald needed any more argument against Alexander’s proposals, the Associated Collegiate Press awarded it a National Pacemaker award in 1988. The ACP also

inducted the Herald into the its Hall of Fame in 1989.

And fi nally, Meredith removed the “acting” part of Adams’ title in July 1990, offi cially ending the controversy that started more than two years earlier. It’s remained that way through Adams’ retirement this year.

“I’ve heard (Adams) say it so many times,” Poore said of the Alexander saga. “I remember him saying, ‘I knew somebody wouldn’t be here at the end of all this. I just had no idea I’d be the one staying.’”

July 1990Thomas Meredith issues his Herald policy statement that confirms the status quo operation of Student Publications. Mr. A becomes director of Student Publications and Talisman adviser and remains as Herald adviser.

December 1994The first issue of the Talisman Xposure is published. With declining sales and a loss of interest the staff felt the need to adapt the old yearbook format. The new magazine style publication was a move by the staff to transform the publication into a more current and provocative form of expression. Three soft-cover books allowed readers to receive the publication throughout the year.

1995

The Herald is the first college paper to go online in Kentucky.


My story with Mr. Adams begins when I was 15 and was recruited to attend Western’s Minority Journalism Workshop, a life-shaping experience that landed me many years later at The Washington Post where a string of journalists have made history.

But I’ll skip to age 30 when Bob came to New York for some event and had dinner with my daughter Ella and me.

She was a toddler, she was precocious and she could recite the fi ve boroughs and seven continents. As we chomped on chicken and waffl es at this Harlem restaurant, someone said, “You know a lot.”

Ella said, “I know everything.”The quick-witted Bob cleared his throat and said,

“That’s what your mother thought before she had you.”The exchange made me think about how Bob never

acted as if he knew more than his students, always sharing his knowledge yet learning from us. It’s a subtle way of teaching that most professors and editors and bosses will never have.

He taught me about people and ethics and the business of journalism. I am forever grateful, particularly to his dedication to recruiting young minority students into the summer workshops and to Western.

Western is losing one of those rare characters: a Mr. Chips, a Sir Thackeray, a Mr. Kotter.

We know him as Mr. A.

— Nikita Stewart

‘Bob never acted as if he knew more than his students’

Stewart is a staff writer for The Washington Post and participated in the Western Kentucky University Minority Journalism Workshop in 1991, 1992 and 1993. She is a 1994 graduate of WKU.

Mr. A was always simply “Mr. A,” but trying to sum up how he infl uenced one’s life is anything but simple. I fi rst met Mr. A when I attended WKU’s High School Journalism Workshop as a 16-year-old. The following summer, as a participant in the Junior Scholars Program on campus, I took his Intro to Journalism class. It’s no wonder that a year later I enrolled at WKU and immediately signed up to work on the College Heights Herald.

Mr. A shared many qualities with my father. He was soft-spoken, with a dry sense of humor and an impish smile. He didn’t tell you how to do things so much as point you in a good direction and let you discover the right path. His advice was seldom delivered directly. Instead, it came in ways that left you better prepared to make the right decision yourself the next time. At times, you might not even have realized his impact on a decision you’d made until much later.

I think we shared a passion for the “production” aspects of newspapering as well as the journalistic aspects, diving into everything from typesetting (a term that may send

younger alumni scrambling for a dictionary) to delivering the papers. Of course, we all remember the familiar cry, “Let’s wrap it up” as the evening wore on and most grew weary of these production chores. This may have been why I eventually found myself drawn to the digital side of publishing.

Most impressive has been Mr. A’s selfl ess giving back to others, helping journalists from high schoolers to seasoned reporters and editors grow. He fostered a family among all who passed through Student Publications, such that people who never knew each other while in college now feel connected.

— Neil Budde

Mr. A ‘let you discover the right path’

Budde is CEO of the Philadelphia Public Interest Information Network and was the 1975-76 College Heights Herald editor.

1996The Talisman stops publication due to decrease in sales.

The Herald wins its first Gold Crown from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

1998

July 1, 1999The School of Journalism & Broadcasting is established.

ALUMNI in their wordsLEAVING A LEGACY1414

In the summer of 1982 Bob Adams and Jim Highland created the Xposure Journalism Workshop, formerly the Dow Jones High School Minority Journalism Workshop. The two-week experience was designed to ensure diversity in the fi eld of journalism. Workshoppers learned how to be journalists, what questions to ask and what characteristics were needed to be successful. And while all of that was going on, they produced a newspaper fi lled with their stories from the two weeks.

Thirty years later, with Adams serving as director, the workshop continues to serve its original purpose. Beyond developing the skills of budding journalists, Adams adds a personal touch to the experience. He cares about each participant and tries to keep in contact with every student who has ever participated in the summer program. The alumni of these workshops were given the experience of a lifetime and a foot in the door on their career path. They now fi ll media outlets throughout the country, helping to ensure that the news gatherers at media outlets mirror the diverse communities they serve.

Workshop aims to ensure diversity in fi eld of journalism

The Herald returns to its broadsheet size, and the staff begins sending the paper electronically.

August 2002

2003Talisman resumes publication after a six-year absence and wins a Pacemaker award with its first publication.

The School of Journalism & Broadcasting moves into the $18.5 million Mass Media & Technology Hall.

September 2003

"- Pam Johnson

It's sort of like A LIFELONG RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. ONCE YOU GRADUATE, THAT IS NOT THE END."


The College Heights Herald has one goal that it has never reached — to publish a perfect paper.

But, I’m pleased to report, the staff has never quit trying to reach that goal.

The heart of advising is goals. What is it you’re after — for yourself, for the students, for the paper, for the school?

One of the goals here has been professionalism — to operate the Herald as if it were a “real” paper, not just a college paper. We’ve operated that way because our students are preparing to work on weekly and daily newspapers across the country.

Advising is a blend of confi dence, respect and love.

Instilling good judgment and promoting a good attitude are a continuing effort, not things reserved for a post-mortem. If I see things that would make the next day’s paper a little better, I cannot wait until it is published to ask if an alternative has been considered. I have too much pride in the Herald to be satisfi ed with anything less than the best paper possible.

But, I must hasten to add, I don’t read every story before it is published. Copy editors do that, not the adviser.

I have confi dence in the students who make decisions on the Herald. They have good instruction in the classroom and they have demonstrated

competence as reporters. Every person who becomes and editor must earn his job. And then he must devote himself to doing that job as well as he can do it. I do not expect any more from my students than I expect from myself.

It is not my style to sit in my offi ce until someone comes seeking advice. I spend most of the time on Mondays and Wednesdays in the newsroom trying to help in whatever way I can. I must admit, though, that grading papers and keeping up with my duties as interim director of university publications have reduced my time in the newsroom recently.

Some advisers have said to me that their students would object if they saw the paper before it was published; the Herald staff is concerned if for some reason I’m not around to help.

I respect the students who work on the Herald, and they know it. They know that I am not trying to impose my ideas on them. If I make a suggestion, it’s just that — a suggestion. In my own way, I try to stimulate them to think, to learn to make decisions and judgments.

As a teacher and adviser I have tried to help students make their own decisions and to keep a helping hand extended, no matter how late the hour or how tired the deteriorating body. It boils down to teaching and helping.

The motives? They would have to include a

deep and abiding interest in these young people and a professional striving for excellence — for them and for myself.

Credit for the success of the Herald staff members belongs to everyone, for the students are ours, not mine. But I do take immense pride in their success — and I hurt deeply when they stumble.

Credit for the awards the Herald has won in the past 15 or so years belongs to everyone involved. Ii take immense pride in that, too.

The success of our reporters, editors, photographers and advertising sales people — their ability to compete nationally for awards, scholarships and jobs — speaks for itself.

Herald staff members are graduating with honors. They are getting good jobs in the profession. Their editors and supervisors are giving them good reports about their performance and attitude on the job.

Once they’ve graduated and entered the job market, we could forget about them. But we don’t. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t get a letter or call or visit from a former Herald staff member. To me, that’s one of the most rewarding aspects of this job.

—Bob Adams

Originally printed October 1988 in a special section, A Reader's Guide to the Herald, part of National Newspaper Week.

Adviser instills good judgment, but leaves decision to students

In his own words...

2004Adams is awarded the President’s Award for Diversity.

Adams is inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame and receives the 2005 Student Advising Award of Potter College for 2004-2005.

2005

2005The Board of Regents allocates funding for the Talisman allowing students to receive the publication at no charge. This ensures the future of the publication and allows for the staff to produce a publication coinciding with the university’s centennial.


Groundbreaking takes place for the Adams-Whitaker Student Publications Center as a part of the 87th annual Student Publications Homecoming breakfast. A grassroots fund-raising campaign by Student Publications alumni and friends raises more than $1 million for the $1.6 million facility.

Oct. 28, 2006

2006Adams is inducted into the College Media Advisers Hall of Fame.

Adams is named Journalism Educator of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists.

2007

Talisman Awards

1974 - Trendsetter Award1975 - Trendsetter Award 1976 - Trendsetter Award1977 - Trendsetter Award1978 - Trendsetter Award1981 - ACP Pacemaker1982 - ACP Pacemaker1982 - Columbia Scholastic Press Gold Crown1983 - ACP Pacemaker1984 - ACP Pacemaker1985 - ACP Pacemaker1988 - ACP Pacemaker1995 - Xposure - ACP Pacemaker1995 - Xposure - Columbia Scholastic Press Gold Crown2003 - ACP Pacemaker2003 - Columbia Scholastic Press Silver Crown2004 - ACP Pacemaker2005 - ACP Pacemaker2007 - ACP Pacemaker2007 - Columbia Scholastic Press Silver Crown2008 - ACP Pacemaker2008 - Columbia Scholastic Press Silver Crown2009 - ACP Pacemaker2009 - Inducted into the ACP Hall of Fame2009 - Columbia Scholastic Press Silver Crown2010 - ACP Pacemaker2010 - Columbia Scholastic Press Gold Crown2011 - Columbia Scholastic Press Gold Crown

Throughout their history, the Herald and Talisman have accumulated thousands of awards and are both highly regarded as two of the best publications in college media. Combined

they have received more than 50 national awards given by Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the Associated Collegiate Press.

College Heights Herald Awards

1981 - ACP Pacemaker1982 - ACP Pacemaker1983-84 - ACP Pacemaker1988 - ACP Pacemaker1989 - Inducted into ACP Hall of Fame1991-1992 - ACP Pacemaker1997-1998 - ACP Pacemaker1998 - Columbia Scholastic Press Gold Crown1998-1999 - ACP Pacemaker 1999 - Columbia Scholastic Press Gold Crown1999-2000 - ACP PacemakerFall 2000 - Columbia Scholastic Press Gold CrownSpring 2000 - Columbia Scholastic Press Gold Crown2001-2002 - ACP Pacemaker 2002 - Columbia Scholastic Press Gold CrownFall 2002 - Columbia Scholastic Press Silver Crown2002-2003 - ACP PacemakerFall 2003 - Columbia Scholastic Press Silver CrownSpring 2003 - Columbia Scholastic Press Silver CrownSpring 2004 - Columbia Scholastic Press Silver CrownFall 2004 - Columbia Scholastic Press Silver CrownSpring 2005 - Columbia Scholastic Press Silver Crown2004-2005 - ACP PacemakerSpring 2006 - Columbia Scholastic Press Silver Crown2009 - ACP Pacemaker2010 - online ACP Pacemaker2010 - ACP Pacemaker


Student Publications moves into the Adams-Whitaker Student Publications Center on Normal Street across from MMTH.

Fall 2008The Talisman takes a new approach to documenting life on campus with a chronological format and nontraditional size. This takes the book beyond a typical yearbook into a publication fit for a coffee table.

The Talisman is inducted into the ACP Hall of Fame.

2009

Student Publications fi nds a permanent home on the hillOn Oct. 26, 2006, a

groundbreaking ceremony

was held as part of the

annual Homecoming

Breakfast for the Student

Publications Building. The

building was funded almost

entirely through individual

contributions from

alumni who worked for

the College Heights Herald

and the Talisman. The

campaign helped raise

more than $1 million for

the $1.6 million facility.

A year later the building

was dedicated and named

for Bob Adams and the late

David B. Whitaker, both WKU

graduates who served as

editor of the College Heights

Herald and as director of

Student Publications.

In January 2008 staff

began production in

the 6,500-square-foot

facility, fully establishing a

permanent home for both

publications.

January 2008


'The harbor' — Lori BeckerI met Bob Adams when I was editor of

my high school newspaper. He recruited me to come to Western Kentucky University, selling me on the award-winning journalism program that would prepare me for a career in newspapers.

And he did not disappoint.Mr. A, along with others at WKU,

taught me how to write, how to report and how to edit. He taught me the value of news judgment and the importance of journalistic integrity. He built the foundation that still grounds me today and has carried me through each step of my career.

But like most of his students, what I learned from Mr. A goes far beyond how to write a headline.

Bob Adams is gentle and unassuming. He is a man of few words, but he has a way of telling you exactly what you need to hear when you least expect it.

During my days at Western, I spent many hours in Mr. A’s offi ce — sometimes hashing out the big story of the day, sometimes plotting my future career path, sometimes wrestling with my latest heartbreak. He was a sounding board for countless conversations, mostly trivial, occasionally life changing. Regardless of the topic, Mr. A would always listen.

I remember few of the actual discussions we had. What stuck with me

was his quiet confi dence and the calming way he would guide me to the correct conclusion. Mr. A is a harbor, a place of security and comfort for anyone who knocks at his door.

Every time I come back to the Hill, Mr. A welcomes me with a hug. And not just any hug. Mr. A’s bear hug is like no other. He wraps his arms around you, pulls you in close and squeezes so tight that you hold your breath for a moment. And in that moment, you’re home.

As promised, I came away from Western with top-notch skills. Mr. A taught me not only how to be a good journalist, but he showed me how to be a good person.

Bob Adams has meant many things to his students. He is more than a teacher, more than a mentor, more than a friend.

For me, Mr. A is home.

Becker is The Nashville

Business Journal

managing editor and

was the 1997 College

Heights Herald editor.

November 2011Mr. A is named a Lifetime Member of CMA for his work in CMA and commitment to student media, both at WKU and nationally.

Talisman wins back-to-back Gold Crown Awards for 2010 and 2011 publications.

2012The wkuherald.com mobile application for iPhone and Android launches.

March 2011

Adams’ journalism career hasn’t been limited to the Hill.

He was publisher of the Cumberland Times in Crossville, Tenn., in 1988-89;

publisher and general manager of the North Warren Observer in Smiths Grove,

Ky., in 1985-86; co-publisher of the Citizen-Statesman in Celina, Tenn., in 1983-87;

co-publisher of the Herald-News in Edmonton, Ky., in 1982-87; and co-publisher

of the Cumberland County News in Burkesville, Ky., in 1980-87. Adams also worked

for the Daily News in Bowling Green from 1965-69.

He has produced publications for several groups including the Girls’ Sweet

Sixteen, the Kentucky High School Music Educators and Kentucky High School

Marching Band Championships.


bob adam's retirement

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