A full Friday for Rather
With meetings to attend, speeches to give, Rather will be busy on campus Friday
Stewart smith
Issue date: 4/15/04 Section: Campus News
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Following his presentation, Rather will then take part in a private lunch with former classmates and professors. The lunch will precede a campus tour with Gaertner that will conclude at the communications building and lead into his 3 p.m. private session with a select group of students from the mass communications department. The group is comprised of students chosen from the department and includes students involved with RTV production as well as several Houstonian staff members.
Interim Chairman of the Department of Mass Communcations, Tony DeMars, expressed his anticipation of Rather's arrival.
"It will be good to meet him and re-establish a relationship with him, as he hasn't been here in a while," he said. "We're also hoping to get some advice from him on what he thinks we could do better here." DeMars also stated that many of his students have expressed "a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of excitement" about Rather's visit.
"(This meeting) will allow for a more intimate setting for students to get to know (Rather) and for some one-on-one stuff," Vernick said.
"I'm looking to gain invaluable knowledge from someone who has really made an impact in the journalism world," said Houstonian layout editor Eric Barton. "I'm looking forward to finding out his opinion on certain things that he can't put inside of stories, such as how he feels about the presidential election, the situation in Iraq, et cetera."
After his meeting with communications students, Rather will meet with historian Ty Cashion, who is authoring a book about the university titled "Sam Houston State University: A History, 1879-2004." Rather has been in correspondence with Cashion and will author the book's foreword.
Later that evening, Rather will be the keynote speaker at the President's Dinner and Concert held in the Lowman Student Center Ballroom. The dinner, Vernick said, is used more to bring in alumni and donors. Once again, Rather's presentation will be free form, allowing him to cover any topic he chooses.
Overall, Vernick said that most staff and faculty are very eager and excited about Rather's visit.
"Just the whole notion that he's going to be here has people excited," she said. "People are excited to see what his reaction will be to what all has changed since last time he was here."
Interim Chairman of the Department of Mass Communcations, Tony DeMars, expressed his anticipation of Rather's arrival.
"It will be good to meet him and re-establish a relationship with him, as he hasn't been here in a while," he said. "We're also hoping to get some advice from him on what he thinks we could do better here." DeMars also stated that many of his students have expressed "a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of excitement" about Rather's visit.
"(This meeting) will allow for a more intimate setting for students to get to know (Rather) and for some one-on-one stuff," Vernick said.
"I'm looking to gain invaluable knowledge from someone who has really made an impact in the journalism world," said Houstonian layout editor Eric Barton. "I'm looking forward to finding out his opinion on certain things that he can't put inside of stories, such as how he feels about the presidential election, the situation in Iraq, et cetera."
After his meeting with communications students, Rather will meet with historian Ty Cashion, who is authoring a book about the university titled "Sam Houston State University: A History, 1879-2004." Rather has been in correspondence with Cashion and will author the book's foreword.
Later that evening, Rather will be the keynote speaker at the President's Dinner and Concert held in the Lowman Student Center Ballroom. The dinner, Vernick said, is used more to bring in alumni and donors. Once again, Rather's presentation will be free form, allowing him to cover any topic he chooses.
Overall, Vernick said that most staff and faculty are very eager and excited about Rather's visit.
"Just the whole notion that he's going to be here has people excited," she said. "People are excited to see what his reaction will be to what all has changed since last time he was here."