Dean James Atwater

• Dean, 1983-1989

By Paul Hagey

Senior Time magazine editor James D. Atwater became the seventh dean of the Missouri Journalism School in 1983 following an extended search for Dean Roy Fisher's replacement.

Atwater had a long and established magazine journalism career before joining the University of Missouri faculty. In 1950, he was hired by Time magazine as an editorial assistant upon graduation from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. After several years at Time, with a brief interruption for service in the Air Force, Atwater joined the staff at the Saturday Evening Post in 1962 where he remained until the magazine folded in 1968. He then worked for a brief time in the Nixon White House until accepting a position with the London bureau of Reader's Digest. In 1973, Atwater rejoined Time as an editor.

Atwater's work as a journalist and writer resulted in 25 cover stories for Time in addition to numerous articles in Sports Illustrated, Esquire, Smithsonian, the Saturday Evening Post and Reader's Digest. In 1977 he wrote a novel, Time Bomb (Viking).

Journalism Dean James D. Atwater, who had written 25 cover stories for Time magazine, taught students how to write short stories about complicated subjects. Photo: Missouri Alumnus, Page 11 (Jan./Feb. 1984).

Becoming dean represented a different challenge for Atwater and one that he embraced. In a reflection upon his arrival to the Journalism School during its 75th anniversary celebration, Atwater wrote: "The School is not remarkable simply because it was founded earlier than any other...I soon discovered that the secret of this place is the fact that it is restless - that it is not content, that it worries a great deal about how it might improve what it is doing and what new projects it should be taking on."

Atwater exhibited some of this healthy restiveness while dean by overseeing the establishment of the Science Journalism Center, reorganizing the Freedom of Information Center, and initiating a fund drive that would eventually raise several million dollars for the construction of Lee Hills Hall. The building, dedicated in 1995, became the new home of the Columbia Missourian.

As dean, Atwater helped secure lighter teaching loads for faculty as well as an increase in financial assistance for faculty research. He also led the School to a positive accreditation report in 1986. The report praised the quality of the School's students, its faculty salaries, diversity and credentials, and its effort and success at minority recruitment.

Atwater retired in 1989 from dean of the School to focus on teaching, which he and others recognized as his true love and gift. Professor Emeritus Don Ranly wrote that Atwater's character that made him a memorable professor: "His enormous sense of humor, his wonderful self-deprecating demeanor, his incredible appreciation of life and all of its dimensions - from the humblest sports to the most eloquent literature and artistic works - all of this is what his students and colleagues see and appreciate."

Like Dean Fisher before him, one of Atwater's children attended the School. Jennifer graduated with a master's degree in 1995.

Atwater died in 1996. The School still celebrates his passion for writing and teaching through an annual writing prize bearing his name. The Atwater Prize for Writing awards $500 to outstanding student writers in the School. His wife, Patty, who had worked as a copyeditor at the Columbia Missourian and is one of the judges for the award, attests her husband's sense of fulfillment as a professor and confirms his legacy: "He said the best thing he ever did, and the happiest he was, was teaching writing."

Timeline

• 1928 Born, Westfield, Mass.
• 1950 B.A. Yale University
• 1962-68 Senior Editor, Saturday Evening Post
• 1970-73 Reader's Digest, London Bureau
• 1973 Senior Writer and Editor, Time Magazine
• 1977 Novel, Time Bomb, published.
• 1984-89 Dean, Missouri School of Journalism
• 1989-91 Professor, Missouri School of Journalism
• 1991-93 Atwood Professor of Journalism, University of Alaska-Anchorage
• 1993-96 Professor, Missouri School of Journalism
• 1996 Died Columbia, Mo.

Related

June 23, 2008: Graduate Student Wins Atwater Prize for Writing Graduate student Jake Siegel won the 2008 Atwater Prize for Writing, an award worth $600 that was presented at a luncheon this spring. The Atwater Prize is open to students in all emphasis areas and was founded in memory of James D. Atwater, dean of the School from 1983-1989 and a professor of magazine and editorial writing. [More]

May 25, 2007: Traudes Wins Atwater Prize for Writing Senior newspaper journalism major Cristof Traudes recently won the 2007 Atwater Prize for Writing at the Missouri School of Journalism. The Atwater Prize provides a $500 stipend to one talented writing student each year. Traudes submitted several of his stories from the Missourian for the competition, including "A Brother's Story," a 5,000 word personal report about growing up with a sibling with Asperger's Syndrome. Asperger's is considered the mildest form of autism. [More]

May 10, 2006: Adam Schreck Wins Atwater Prize for Writing Master's student Adam Schreck has been recognized for his outstanding work in writing as the recipient of the 2006 Atwater Prize for in-depth reporting. His submissions for the competition included two in-depth Columbia Missourian reports from the Mississippi coast following Hurricane Katrina and an investigative story about former Enron CEO Ken Lay's connections to Missouri. [More]

May 2, 2005: Cristian Lupsa Awarded Atwater Prize for Writing Cristian Lupsa has been awarded this year's Atwater Prize for in-depth reporting published in the Columbia Missourian and Vox magazine. The competition recognizes outstanding writing by Missouri School of Journalism students and drew 32 entries this year. [More]