Dr. Lee Thornton, retired professor at the University of Maryland and president of Washington, DC., pro chapter of SPJ from 1996-97, died Sept. 25 of pancreatic cancer. She was 71 years old.
Thornton joined the faculty of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism in the late 1990s. She served as the inaugural Eaton Chair of Broadcast Journalism and was the interim dean for a year following the resignation of Tom Kunkel. Last academic year, she was the ombudsperson for the university's graduate school. But following her retirement several years ago, she held other positions with the university as well.
Thornton was a former correspondent for CBS News and the first African-American female regularly assigned to the White House beat by one of the (then) three major networks. She was also the first African-American host of NPR's “All Things Considered.”
Before joining the faculty of the Merrill College of Journalism, Lee was a professor at Howard University. Lee earned her doctorate from Northwestern University.
A tribute to Thornton’s life and many accomplishments is posted on the Merrill College's website: http://tinyurl.com/mbvuxh9.
“She could move back and forth in those fields seamlessly and be spectacularly good at both things.”
Dean Lucy Dalglish said in a statement that Thornton “excelled” as a broadcast journalist as well as a journalism and communications scholar. “She could move back and forth in those fields seamlessly and be spectacularly good at both things,” Dalglish said.
Funeral plans have not been announced. A campus-wide memorial service at the University of Maryland in College Park will be held at the university's Memorial Chapel sometime in the weeks ahead.
Personal note from web administrator Dan Kubiske: I was the chapter vice-president under Lee. She was a great mentor in learning about the fun-filled world of journalism and journalists. She gave me a lot of room to maneuver and take chances with chapter programming. She will be missed.