Hall of Fame 2004

Mike Cochran
University of North Texas

As an Associated Press correspondent based in Fort Worth, Mike Cochran covered Texas, particularly West Texas, uncovering unusual stories, interviewing offbeat characters and reporting on dark crimes and deep secrets. He covered the John F. Kennedy assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald’s funeral, the Jack Ruby trial, the University of Texas sniper, the U.S. space program, various political scandals, tornadoes, the Mexico City earthquake, the Challenger explosion, Branch Davidian siege and several of the state’s high-profile murder trials. He has written two books, Texas vs. Davis (about the murder case of Fort Worth billionaire T. Cullen Davis) and And Deliver Us From Evil (a trilogy of true-crime stories). He won a Katie Award in 2000.

Willie Morris
University of Texas-Austin

An acclaimed editor and award-winning author of more than 20 books and hundreds of essays and articles, Willie Morris was a reporter, columnist, sports editor and editor of The Daily Texan before graduating from The UT-Austin. He brought national attention to the campus newspaper when he clashed with the board of regents over first amendment rights of the newspaper. He was a Rhodes Scholar and in 1963 became the youngest editor-in-chief of Harper’s Magazine. Among his books are My Dog Skip (1995) and The Ghosts of Medgar Evers (1996).

John Dycus
University of Texas-Arlington

For 28 years John Dycus was Shorthorn adviser and then associate director of student publications at the University of Texas at Arlington. He was named TIPA Adviser of the Year in 1999 and is a former president of the Fort Worth Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He assisted in founding the Arlington Handicapped Association in 1977 and was named Helping Restore Ability (same agency, new name) Man of the Year in 1997. He served on the state Developmental Disabilities Council and received the Governor’s Citation in 1974 for his contribution to state employment of the handicapped. He retired from UTA in 1998.

Liz Carpenter
University of Texas-Austin

At 83 years of age, Liz Carpenter highly recommended journalism as a profession. She was editor of her high school newspaper at Austin High School, worked on The Daily Texan and received a journalism degree from UT-Austin. She covered the White House and Congress for the Austin American-Statesman from the Franklin D. Roosevelt to the John F. Kennedy administrations. She was named press secretary to Lady Bird Johnson. She has authored four books as well as numerous magazine articles. The Liz Carpenter Distinguished Lectureship in the Humanities and Sciences was established at UT-Austin in 1984.

Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson
University of Texas-Austin

At an early age, a nursemaid said she was “as purty as a lady bird” – thereafter she became known to her family and friends as “Lady Bird.” Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson graduated from Marshall High School and received a journalism degree from UT-Austin in 1934. She married Lyndon B. Johnson in 1934 and became First Lady in 1963. She received the Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 1988. In 1982, she founded the National Wildflower Research Center. She is the author of A White House Diary, a record of her activities kept during LBJ’s term as President of the United States.

Lyndon B. Johnson
Southwest Texas State University

Lyndon B. Johnson worked as a reporter, editorial writer and editor of the student newspaper at Southwest Texas State Teachers College (now Texas State University- San Marcos). After receiving a bachelor’s degree in 1930, he was a teacher, principal, edited the school newspaper and coached the 1931 district championship debate team at Sam Houston High School in Houston. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1931, served in the U.S. Senate, was elected vice president of the United States in 1960 and became the 36th President of the United States in 1963 following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. As of 2004, he is the only U.S. President to graduate from a Texas university.

J. Frank Dobie
Southwestern University

J. Frank Dobie was a teacher, storyteller, folklorist, historian and author. He received a bachelor’s degree from Southwestern University in 1910. He worked in the summer as a reporter for the San Antonio Express and the Galveston Tribune, taught high school in Alpine where he was also the principal, play director and editor of the school paper. He became the editor of the Texas Folklore Society in 1921. He spoke out on social issues, railed against censorship and those who would impede freedom of thought, championed black voting rights in 1945 and supported organized labor’s right to strike. He was the state’s leading spokesman and literary and cultural figure in the 1930s. He received the Medal of Freedom in 1964.

Bertha McKee
Southwestern University

After receiving a bachelor’s degree from Southwestern University in 1910 and a master’s from UT-Austin in 1918, Bertha McKee taught English and mathematics in Dalhart, Galveston and at Alexander Collegiate Institute (now Lon Morris College). She married J. Frank Dobie in 1916. She became a writer and contributed articles on gardening to Texas newspapers and wrote for Nature Magazine, Garden Digest, Holland’s Magazine and more. She was assistant editor of the Texas Folklore Society publications (1923-1935). She was named a Distinguished Alumna of Southwestern University in 1973. She was one of the first three TIPA writing contest winners in 1910.

Wilma Wirt
University of Texas-El Paso

With a master’s degree from UT-Austin, Wilma Wirt worked for newspapers and taught in higher education for more than 30 years. A former president of TIPAA and TIPA Adviser of the Year, she directed student publications at Temple Junior College and the UT-El Paso. In 1984, students at J.M. Hanks High School in El Paso named their journalism honor society the “Wilma Wirt Chapter of Quill and Scroll.” After leaving UTEP, she joined Virginia Commonwealth University and established Capital News Service in 1994.

Ben Sargent
Amarillo College

Born into a newspaper family, Ben Sargent learned the printing trade at age 12 and started working for the local newspaper in Amarillo at age 14. He attended Amarillo College then received a journalism degree from The UT-Austin. He worked for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Long News Service, the Austin American-Statesman and United Press International. His editorial cartoons are distributed nationally by Universal Press Syndicate. He received the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2001 and 2002. He is the author of Texas Statehouse Blues (1980) and Big Brother Blues (1984).