Hussman honored with Distinguished Alumnus Award

Chancellor Holden Thorp presented 1968 J-school graduate Walter Hussman with the University’s Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Hussman, publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, is a third-generation newspaper publisher and head of WEHCO Media in Little Rock. The company operates daily and weekly newspapers and cable television companies in five states.

Hussman has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Associated Press and as chair of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association. His skillful management of the Arkansas Democrat when locked in a circulation war with the Arkansas Gazette has been called a classic example of how to attract readers by increasing news coverage.

The Knight Foundation calls him “a newsman defying conventional thinking by turning out quality journalism that leads to healthy profitability.”

Hussman has worked to improve public education in Little Rock, has supported creation of three state-funded charter schools and has generously supported the Arkansans for Education Reform Foundation. He has endowed four distinguished professorships at Carolina and contributed generously to the renovation of Carroll Hall in preparation for its occupation by the Hussman School of Journalism and Media.

Others receiving Distinguished Alumna and Alumnus Awards were Janie Fouke, Santiago Gangotena, Mia Hamm and the late William Little.