By Kait Lavinder
Lee Thornton, who died Sept. 25 at age 71 after a brief illness, was a trailblazer in the fields of broadcast journalism and higher education.
Faculty, staff, family and friends gathered for an Oct. 24 service at the university’s Memorial Chapel to celebrate her life and distinguished career.
As a national television correspondent and an inspirational college professor, Thornton set new standards fo
r African Americans and for women. In 1977, she became the first African American woman to be regularly assigned to presidential coverage by one of the “big three” broadcast networks — CBS News. Just over three decades later, she became the first woman and second African American to run the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
One of Thornton’s former students is Elizabeth Jia, who is president of the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. “She challenged students to become enterprising reporters,” said Jia, a web producer at WUSA-TV Channel 9. “Dr. Thornton instilled in me the understanding of what it took to produce quality news. She set the bar high, and I am grateful.”
Thornton herself was an active member of the D.C. SPJ chapter and a former chapter president.
Over the years, Thornton’s Merrill students have won more than 80 national and regional awards. Many of her students have gone on to have successful careers as journalists.
Thornton was always an academic; she earned her bachelor’s of science degree, master’s degree and doctorate before embarking on her journalism career. Thornton received her doctorate in radio/television/film from Northwestern University in Chicago in 1973 and stayed closely affiliated with the university college after graduating.
Northwestern’s director of communications for its School of Communication, Lori Rader-Day, explained that Thornton was a “valued member” on the school’s National Advisory Council. According to Rader-Day, that council advises Northwestern School of Communication Dean Barbara O’Keefe on matters of school policy, student programming, faculty development, curriculum, and other issues. “We are saddened to hear of her death, far too young,” said Rader-Day.
While working her way up the academia ladder, Thornton simultaneously rose to prominence in her broadcasting career. Her first stint in the field was at a local Cincinnati television station. She eventually went on to produce public affairs shows for CNN, including “Both Sides With Jesse Jackson,” and to anchor for NPR’s “All Things Considered.”
In 1997, Thornton was hired as the University of Maryland’s first Richard Eaton chair in broadcast journalism, where she worked as professor and chair until her retirement in August 2011. During her tenure there, she created, produced, and hosted “Front and Center: Journalists on Journalism.” The interview-style program’s list of interviewees includes leading Washington journalists Wolf Blitzer, Sam Donaldson, and Helen Thomas. It airs on the university’s cable station UMTV.
Commenting on Thornton’s career, Merrill College Dean Lucy Dalglish said, “Lee Thornton was a journalism and communications scholar. She was a broadcast journalist. She excelled at both. … She could move back and forth in those fields seamlessly and be spectacularly good at both things.”
Thornton’s unabated tendency to teach and to inspire did not end when she retired from the University of Maryland. She continued to work at the university as the interim associate provost for equity and diversity, in which she focused on the minority student achievement gap.
Her last post at the college was as an ombudsman with an office in the graduate school. There, she worked to resolve problems between students and faculty.
“She passionately and tenaciously cared about people and ways to help people improve their circumstances,” noted Merrill College Associate Dean Olive Reid. “What was most amazing is she was also down to earth.”
Thornton held positions on numerous University of Maryland committees. She served on the Research Development Council, the advisory board for the American Journalism Review, and the board of Terp magazine.
Thornton is survived by her mother, Betty Thornton, and a sister, Marilyn Thornton.