Ole Miss Alumnus Berkley Hudson Awarded 2015 Kemper Fellowship

Berkley Hudson with his 1948 Royal Quiet DeLuxe typewriter in his office, something he occasionally uses in class to slow his students down and get them to think about what they’re writing.

The Missouri School of Journalism announced recently that Berkley Hudson, associate professor of magazine journalism in the school, was awarded one of the 2015 William T. Kemper Fellowships for Teaching Excellence by University of Missouri Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin and Commerce Bank Chairman Jim Schatz. The William T. Kemper Fellowships for Teaching Excellence were established in 1991 with a $500,000 gift.

Hudson teaching workshops for Mizzou journalism for the China International Publishing Group’s magazines and websites in Beijing.

Hudson earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi, a master’s degree from Columbia University and a doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but has never forgotten the skills and perfecting of his craft that he first learned at the University of Mississippi.

“At Ole Miss, teachers saw in me what I did not yet see in myself,” Hudson said. “True, I was ambitious already. But the professors helped me to learn intellectual and journalistic skills, ways of deep thinking that have buoyed me ever since. That’s how I attempt to assist my students now.”

Hudson teaches intermediate and advanced magazine-writing courses at the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism and is described by his students and peers as a dedicated and caring teacher who demonstrates innovation and creativity in his classrooms.

Hudson and some of his students on a work and study trip to London, visiting the Independent newspaper offices.

Dr. Jere Hoar, professor emeritus at Ole Miss, taught journalism at the University of Mississippi for 36 years. Now retired, Hoar remembers the young Hudson whom he taught and mentored during Hudson’s years at the school.

“Berkley didn’t merely dip into intellectual ideas new to him,” Hoar said, “but he tried to connect them in meaningful relationships. He was curious and questioning, and a fine writer interested in people and their stories.”

Hudson has taught at the University of Rhode Island and California State University’s Fullerton and Los Angeles campuses. He is an experienced reporter and editor who has worked for the Los Angeles Times and the Providence Journal. He currently serves as editor-in-chief of Visual Communication Quarterly, an international peer-reviewed journal.

In response to meetings hosted on the campus of the University of Missouri in 2014 related to the death of Michael Brown and the events that followed in Ferguson, Hudson was named chair of a new committee on race relations on campus created by the Faculty Council.

“I am working with Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin and others to identify both problems and solutions,” Hudson said. “I represent the journalism school on the council.”

Hudson & some of his students.

But no matter where Hudson’s career has taken him over the years, his time at Ole Miss will always be prevalent in his mind and the professors and instructors who guided him while there, the ones he gives credit to for their diligent support and direction.

“The list of those patient teachers is long,” Hudson said. “They include Jere Hoar, Gale Denley, Sam Talbert, Hal Furr, Harry Owens, Lee White, Larry Givens, Toby Wallace, Russell Barrett, David Sansing, and Bob Haws. When I say each name, I think of specific classes filled with my wandering, exuberant cohort of classmates who also were my teachers. They all taught me much. That’s Ole Miss. That’s the University of Mississippi. Hotty Toddy!”

Angela Rogalski is a HottyToddy.com staff reporter and can be reached at angela.rogalski@hottytoddy.com.