Founding director of School of Journalism and Mass Communication dies at his home in North Carolina

 

Dr. Deryl Ray Leaming, founding director of Marshall's W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communication, died at his home in Charlotte, N.C., on Nov. 16, 2007, after a long battle with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) or "Lou Gehrig's Disease.” He was 75.

 

Leaming graduated from Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kan., with a degree in English; the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Neb., with a master's degree in psychology; and Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y., with a Ph.D. in mass communication psychology.

 

Before coming to Marshall, Leaming had quite a career in journalism, including covering the African-American struggle for civil rights in Greenville, Miss.; chairman of the  Department of Technical Journalism and assistant professor of journalism at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan.; and chairman of the Department of Journalism at the University of Tulsa, Okla.

 

While at Marshall he led the Department of Journalism to School of Journalism status in 1977 and was later its first director.

 

He was an active member of the Society of Professional Journalists, having also served on the society's national board and as a regional director. He and his colleagues at Marshall University won the coveted First Amendment Award from the society in 1993 for their courageous support of the university's student newspaper and the principles embodied in the First Amendment.

 

After leaving Marshall, Leaming served as dean of the College of Mass Communication at Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tenn.

He also was director of the mass communications program at Georgia State University during the 1993-94 school year.

After retiring in 2001, Dr. and Mrs. Leaming lived briefly in Hernando, Fla., before settling in Charlotte, N.C.

 

Memorials may be made to The Jim “Catfish” Hunter Chapter of ALS, 120-101 Penmar Drive, Raleigh, NC 27603.

 

Online condolences at www.hartsellfh.com.