In his News Writing class, Robert Wernsman would give an automatic zero on any assignment with a misspelled source’s name. For students whose papers came back covered in his infamous blue corrections, it is hard to imagine a time when proper spelling was not a priority of the journalism great.
“In my beginning journalism class, Bob did not consider the spelling of names all that important,” Professor Emeritus Everett Browning wrote in an email. “So I managed to put his name on the chalk board every class, misspelled, of course. One day he got very disturbed that I could not seem to get his name spelled correctly, then the ‘light’ flashed and there were no more problems with names. That’s the kind of guy he was.”
Robert Wernsman teaching during his news writing lab in January of 2014.
Browning was one of Wernsman’s first journalism professors at Peru State College in Peru, Nebraska. In a comment on a previous The Hub@TTU post, Browning said he hoped he contributed to the success of one of the most respected teachers in the Texas Tech University College of Media and Communication.
Wernsman died on March 15, after a long battle with cancer. He retired in January after 20 years of teaching at Texas Tech.
According to a college press release, Wernsman enjoyed a career in journalism before becoming a teacher. He began his career in Nebraska, but spent much of his career in Texas. He held editing positions at the Huntsville Item and the Big Spring Herald.
Lucinda Holt, a 2014 journalism graduate and former student of Wernsman’s, said one of her favorite stories Wernsman told was about his time as a reporter. The story was about a politician in a bathroom, and essentially boiled down to the fact that no one is special. Holt laughed as she remembered him sharing the colorful story in class.
Holt had a special bond with Wernsman. Wernsman battled cancer on and off for around 20 years. The cancer went in to remission several times, but it always came back. When Holt had a cancer scare during her final semester at Texas Tech, Wernsman was one of the many professors who reached out to her. She wrote that he echoed some advice he had once shared with her when she was in his class.
“‘You need some work,’ he said. ‘I think you will be fine.’ Those were the same words he told me when I went through my recent medical scare,” Holt wrote in an email. “He was with me every step of the way, asking about my progress and I would ask about his.”
Lucinda Holt, Pete Brewton, Robert Wernsman, and Marijane Wernsman had dinner together last semester. Picture courtesy of Holt.
Holt wrote that the news of Wernsman’s death hit her hard. She wrote that the last time she spoke with him, he was doing well and was excited about an upcoming trip to visit some of his grandchildren. They talked about his recent retirement luncheon, and he told her he was thankful he got to hear the kind things his students and colleagues said about him.
“He said that he sat in his old office and watched his retirement video which included words from his colleagues and students — both current and former,” Holt wrote.”He said often times, people miss out on hearing those kind words. Most people don’t say them till after a person is gone, but not him. He was emotionally moved to be able to be alive, with those he loved, hearing all of those beautiful words.”
Kayla Curry, a Texas Tech public relations graduate, said Wernsman helped her as well. Curry was diagnosed with dyslexia and dysgraphia in the second grade. She wrote in a Facebook message that she met with Wernsman during the first week of school to let him know about her learning conditions. She wrote that he was the first teacher she had that made her realize her disability was not a disability at all.
“Unlike the many of other teachers that had told me in my past that I should be aware of my learning disability and take classes that wouldn’t be too hard, he pushed me and gave me a confidence I had never been given by a teacher,” Curry wrote. “I had been told to take sign language instead of Spanish because it was easier for those with learning disabilities. I was warned when I chose to be a PR major of the struggles ahead of me that other students wouldn’t face. He was the first that saw my learning disability as my strength.”
Curry wrote that Wernsman was strict but passionate, and immensely cared for his students.
Picture courtesy of the College of Media and Communication.
Randi Leigh Thomas, a 2014 Texas Tech journalism graduate, wrote in a Facebook message that Wernsman is the ultimate journalist, in her opinion.
“Whenever someone asks me what it means to be a journalist,” Thomas wrote, “he’ll always be my go-to example because of the way he exemplified the greatest qualities of the trade.”
Wernsman is survived by his loving wife, Marijane, who is the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs in the College of Media and Communication. He had four children, two step-children, and 12 grandchildren. He frequently talked about his family in class, and shared his love of them with anyone who would listen.
Wernsman’s funeral on March 17 was standing room only, despite it being over spring break. A memorial service in his honor will be held today, March 26, at 5:30 p.m. in Room 281 of the College of Media and Communication.
About Sarah Self-Walbrick
