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1930s Legacies

Richard Ebel (BSJ54)

Richard “Rick” Glenn Ebel, 89, died on May 16th after a long fight with Lewy body dementia in Silverton, Oregon. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Nancy McGregor Ebel, who died on September 9, 2011.

Rick, a man of enormous intellect, had a smile which could disarm anyone and was a friend to all who knew him. He was the loving father of and is survived by his son Robert Ebel (wife Melissa Ebel) of Beaufort, SC and grandfather to their children Ashlyn and Brandon Ebel; and his daughter, Challen Bomont (husband Steve Bomont) of Wilsonville, OR and grandfather to their daughter, Donelle Bomont.

Rick grew up in Holland and Grand Haven, MI. He was a graduate of Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism in 1954 and a member of Theta Delta Chi fraternity. In his 40’s, Rick decided to go back to school and earned a master’s degree at Northern Illinois University. In his later years, he took classes at Oregon State University in Corvallis where he and his wife ‘Nan’ ultimately retired.

Rick served in the Unites States Army during the Korean War, eventually being stationed in Japan. Upon receiving his honorable discharge, he married Nancy McGregor, his wife of 55 years, and embarked on a lengthy career in advertising and public relations. An early advocate of advertising education, Rick was most at home on college campuses across the country where he lectured students in marketing. He was inducted into his industry’s Hall of Fame in 2008. The Ebel’s resided in Northbrook, IL for many years followed by Grapevine, TX, Hot Springs, AK and finally Corvallis, OR.

Rick was a member of the United Methodist Church where he taught Sunday School for more than a decade and held numerous lay positions.

Rick authored both academic books and a work of fiction. Rick was an avid sailor, animal lover, Detroit Tigers fan, voracious reader and connoisseur of the perfect “martini!” which in heaven are now limitless for him.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/chicagotribune/name/richard-ebel-obituary?id=34987845

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Medill Grad Honors Former Professor with Mary Dedinsky Graduate Journalism Scholarship

A gift from Medill grad Mike Lazerow and his wife will support graduate journalism students. Mike (BSJ96, MSJ96) and Kass Lazerow created The Mary Dedinsky Graduate Journalism Scholarship to honor Mary Dedinsky’s (BSJ69, MSJ70) long-time service to Medill and the broader journalism profession.

The Mary Dedinsky Graduate Journalism Scholarship will be awarded for the first time to an incoming graduate journalism student in fall 2022, with a preference for a student who could add diversity to the class.

Dedinsky is a Medill emeritus professor who served as associate dean at Medill and director of the journalism program at NU-Q, Medill’s pioneering program in Qatar. Dedinsky was inducted into the Medill Hall of Achievement as a part of the 2020 class. She continues to teach at Medill, and she serves on the governing board of Education for Employment, an international organization that helps young people in many countries move from school to employment.

Before Medill, Dedinsky was an editor and reporter. At the Chicago Sun-Times, she became the first woman to be named managing editor of a major metropolitan newspaper. She also served as an education reporter, investigative reporter, editorial writer, metropolitan editor and director of editorial operations. For her work at the Sun-Times, she was elected to the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame and twice served as a Pulitzer Prize juror.

According to Medill Dean Charles Whitaker (BSJ80, MSJ81), scholarship funding is one of the school’s most essential needs. “The Mary Dedinsky Graduate Journalism Scholarship will help us attract the most talented students and make their graduate education possible,” he said. “I am deeply grateful to Mike and Kass for this wonderful support — especially in tribute to Mary, who is such a cherished member of the Medill family.”

In the spring of 1992, Mike Lazerow went to Dedinsky, his academic adviser, with the idea for his first entrepreneurial business venture. Dedinsky encouraged Lazerow to pursue it. Soon University Wire (U-Wire) was born, Lazerow’s first tech startup created to collect and distribute news to college newspapers via the internet.

“Being his adviser, I felt I needed to always be on my toes,” she said. “This young man was coming up with new ideas and new things, and it was a challenge for me to think imaginatively and creatively myself. It is so exciting when you meet someone who inspires you.”

U-Wire launched Lazerow’s career in entrepreneurship. Since then, he and Kass Lazerow have co-founded several businesses, invested in more than 60 tech startups and currently run their venture capital firm Velvet Sea Ventures, which has close to $400 million in assets under management.

Mike Lazerow remembers Dedinsky as much more than an adviser — she was a friend who attended his wedding in 1999.

“She didn’t just teach at Northwestern,” Lazerow said. “She fundamentally changed my Northwestern experience.”

Dedinsky was both surprised and honored when she got the call about the Lazerows’ decision to create a scholarship in her name.

“Knowing Mike and Kass has really been a gift to me and enriched my life,” she said. “When I heard about the scholarship, I couldn’t quite believe it.”

The Lazerows named the scholarship in honor of a beloved professor and celebrated journalist hoping to inspire others to donate and support graduate journalism. So far, the couple’s plan is working as the estate of a late Medill grad anonymously matched the Lazerows’ donation to fund additional scholarships in Dedinsky’s honor.

For the Lazerows, student support was an obvious choice for their gift. “The scholarship provides one thing: opportunity,” Mike Lazerow said. “Going to Medill gives you practical skills to go out and succeed in whatever you want to do. The biggest hurdle is money. Creating graduate scholarships makes Northwestern a more competitive school, so we can attract different points of views and backgrounds.” The Lazerows previously supported the Mike and Kass Lazerow Graduate Scholarship and are members of the Northwestern University Leadership Circle. Mike Lazerow also serves on Medill’s Board of Advisers.

Gifts to the Mary Dedinsky Graduate Journalism Scholarship may be made online (explore “Search School and Program Funds”). Alternately, those wishing to support the fund may send a check to:

Northwestern University
Alumni Relations and Development
1201 Davis Street, Suite 1-400
Evanston, IL 60208-4410

Please make check out to Northwestern University and note the Mary Dedinsky Graduate Journalism Scholarship in the memo or enclosure.

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Ken Bode, former Medill dean and political journalist, dies at 83

Ken Bode, political journalist and former Medill dean, died June 2 at a care center in Charlotte. He was 83. During Bode’s career in journalism, he reported on the presidential campaign trail for NBC, made prizewinning documentaries for CNN and moderated “Washington Week” for PBS.

Associate Professor Emeritus Richard Roth, who was hired by Bode in 1998 and served as his senior associate dean, offered this:

“I am saddened at the news of Bode’s death. He was a giant in journalism – NBC’s chief national political correspondent and, later, even during his first two years as dean at Medill, moderator of PBS’s “Washington Week in Review” – and a gifted teacher and a visionary dean.

It was Bode, who earned a PH.D. in political science before becoming a political reporter, who saw a future in “specializations” at Medill — having graduate journalism programs in partnerships with the Northwestern schools of business, law and medicine, to supplement the basic and industry-specific teaching of Medill’s own accomplished faculty. Some students also earned master’s degrees from the law school and some certificates from Kellogg.

I recall, too, an early conversation with Bode in 1998 when he said, “I am not going to be dean of a second-rate broadcast journalism program,” which motivated him to close a deal with the McCormick Tribune Foundation to provide funding for a new building with a state-of-the-art broadcast studio, from which a regular newscast to the campus could be produced. Finally, I might note, Bode used a million-dollar gift from Medill alumnus Rance Crain and Bode’s own national political connections to bring a diverse selection of big-name speakers to Medill and Northwestern, including the likes of Special Prosecutor Ken Starr to talk about the impeachment of Bill Clinton; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; his former NBC colleague Tom Brokaw; civil rights activist and journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault; former First Lady Rosalynn Carter; the late Sen. John McCain; the Rev. Jesse Jackson and another great Chicagoan, journalist and writer Studs Terkel. He was more than just a colleague and boss: Bode, his wife and his daughters, were friends as well. I will miss him and his big personality greatly.”

Ken Bode, political journalist and former Medill dean, died June 2 at a care center in Charlotte. He was 83. During Bode’s career in journalism, he reported on the presidential campaign trail for NBC, made prizewinning documentaries for CNN and moderated “Washington Week” for PBS.

Medill Associate Professor Emeritus Richard Roth, who was hired by Bode in 1998 and served as his senior associate dean, offered this:

“I am saddened at the news of Bode’s death. He was a giant in journalism – NBC’s chief national political correspondent and, later, even during his first two years as dean at Medill, moderator of PBS’s “Washington Week in Review” – and a gifted teacher and a visionary dean.

It was Bode, who earned a PH.D. in political science before becoming a political reporter, who saw a future in “specializations” at Medill — having graduate journalism programs in partnerships with the Northwestern schools of business, law and medicine, to supplement the basic and industry-specific teaching of Medill’s own accomplished faculty. Some students also earned master’s degrees from the law school and some certificates from Kellogg.

I recall, too, an early conversation with Bode in 1998 when he said, ‘I am not going to be dean of a second-rate broadcast journalism program,’ which motivated him to close a deal with the McCormick Tribune Foundation to provide funding for a new building with a state-of-the-art broadcast studio, from which a regular newscast to the campus could be produced. Finally, I might note, Bode used a million-dollar gift from Medill alumnus Rance Crain and Bode’s own national political connections to bring a diverse selection of big-name speakers to Medill and Northwestern, including the likes of Special Prosecutor Ken Starr to talk about the impeachment of Bill Clinton; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; his former NBC colleague Tom Brokaw; civil rights activist and journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault; former First Lady Rosalynn Carter; the late Sen. John McCain; the Rev. Jesse Jackson and another great Chicagoan, journalist and writer Studs Terkel. He was more than just a colleague and boss: Bode, his wife and his daughters, were friends as well. I will miss him and his big personality greatly.”

Read Bode’s obituary in the Washington Post. 

Photo credit: Dr. Bode in 2004. (Matt Bowen/DePauw University)