Dean Emeritus Richard Cole named to his college newspaper's Hall of Fame
By Beth Hatcher
Dean Emeritus Richard Cole was honored by the organization that cemented his work as a journalist and university administrator — his college newspaper.
Cole was inducted last month into The Daily Texan Hall of Fame. The Daily Texan is the student newspaper serving the University of Texas at Austin, Cole’s undergraduate alma mater.
Cole served as the newspaper’s managing editor in the early 1960s, as the robust college newspaper chronicled the influence of that decade’s rapid social shifts and tumultuous events on the large Texas campus. Cole wrote and edited copy on topics like the fight against segregation and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Read more about Cole’s Daily Texan memories in this essay he recently penned about his time at the newspaper.
“Being named to The Daily Texan’s Hall of Fame was an amazing honor. My years at The Daily Texan were precious to me,” Cole said. “But no matter the award, it’s really always about the people. There were some mighty fine people on that newspaper back then, and many of us have remained lifelong friends.”
Those friends and classmates helped Cole produce a student newspaper that spurred on Cole’s success as a professional. Cole called working in student media an important real-world education for any aspiring journalist.
“Going to college is not just about going to class. Going to college is also about learning how to live a life, and much of that learning for me was at The Daily Texan,” said Cole, who also credited his “can-do” Texas attitude — he grew up in a small town near Dallas — as part of his student and professional success.
Below, left to right: Cole as managing editor at The Daily Texan, Cole at UNC during the school's move to Carroll Hall, Cole on the UT campus after his recent Daily Texan Hall of Fame win. Above at right: Cole pictured during his time at UNC.
As managing editor at The Daily Texan, he was a “builder” — of teams, projects and new ideas. This theme of building, of thinking long term and strategically, would eventually buttress his leadership at what is now the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media.
Cole served as dean of the school from 1979-2005. Previously, he had served as an associate professor at the school, teaching the core journalism classes of news writing, feature writing and editing. In 2005, Cole was inducted into the NC Media & Journalism Hall of Fame.
“The school is what it is today because of Richard Cole,” said Professor Emeritus Tom Bowers. “Nobody worked harder than he did. He set an example. He had a vision, and he stuck to it. He was always thinking of how to make the school bigger and better.”
Bowers, a former James L. Knight Professor of Advertising, taught advertising in the school from 1971 until his retirement in 2006. He served as associate dean from 1979 to 2005 and interim dean in 2005-06.
In 2009, Bowers published “Making News: One Hundred Years of Journalism and Mass Communication at Carolina,” a comprehensive history of the school that details Cole’s accomplishments in a section on the school’s deans. According to the book, during Cole’s tenure enrollment in the graduate program increased 192 percent. Cole also hired 46 faculty members, increasing the number of faculty from 14 in 1980 to 45 in 2005.
Cole fueled student growth by adding advertising and public relations and visual communication tracks to the school’s longtime core of journalism, as well as by adding new programs, including medical, sports and business journalism, said Professor Emerita Jan Yopp ’70, who worked under Cole.
Yopp also cited Cole’s deft fundraising skills that created a substantial endowment, brought in graduate student funding, and raised more than $25 million to renovate Carroll Hall, which became the school’s home in 1999. Howell Hall previously housed the school. Cole managed to secure Carroll Hall for the school from the UNC administration over requests from other campus entities.
“From the time he became dean, Richard had a vision for the school: to grow it into one of the top journalism programs in the country. He did that,” Yopp said. “He balanced the research and professional faculty so that their work complemented each other, and he created an atmosphere of respect and collegiality in the school.”
Dean Emerita Susan King said Cole’s influence extends into 2022.
“Richard was not only the architect of the modern UNC School of Journalism, but he was also a leader nationally and internationally in journalism education,” King said. “At a pivotal moment in the development of our field and the rise of professional schools at great research universities, Richard had a vision. Richard’s vision lives on in our respected graduates throughout the United States who lead media companies.”
Always humble, Cole’s quick to point out that just like at The Daily Texan, a team of people helped him build his vision for the journalism school. His main job as a dean was to listen to them.
“The school is made up of so many wonderful people working together,” Cole said. “And it is all those people who have gotten the school to where it is today.”