Former J School director remembered for fairness, hard work, love of students

Dr. Ralph Izard went by many names to those who knew him – Dr. Izard, Ralph, Riz. But regardless of the name, he is remembered by most everyone he encountered during his time at Ohio University, and now, his presence continues to have an impact on the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.

Izard, who died on September 3, 2020, after a battle with prostate cancer, first arrived in Athens in 1966 as an adjunct professor of journalism. He would go on to teach his students the essentials of writing, editing, journalism ethics, diversity, and the First Amendment for 20 years. In 1986, he became the director of the Scripps school, where he served for the next 12 years before retiring from Ohio and entering the second wave of his career.

In the two decades after his retirement, he went on work as a consultant at the Media Studies Center in New York City, an associate dean of graduate studies at Louisiana State University, and a reporter, consultant and professor on nearly every continent on the planet.

He wore many hats throughout his career, but Izard’s connection to Scripps never ended. Dr. Eddith Dashiell, the current director of the Scripps School, first met Izard when he picked her up from the airport when she interviewed to become a faculty member in 1991. From then on, her memories of Izard were that of someone who loved dancing, his students, and more than anything, the Scripps school.

Professor Emerita Anne Cooper-Chen worked under Izard shortly after he became the Scripps director, and recalls not only the projects he helped her with, but his personal support, his unique view of the world, and the small details.

“(Ralph) was the best boss I ever had,” Cooper-Chen said. “He was fair, selfless, hardworking and supportive. The rare times I see green pen signatures, his trademark, I think of him.”

Izard’s students remember him as a devoted professor who loved teaching and was always ready to do anything to support his students. Notable Scripps alumnus and Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page was one of those students, and recalls Izard as more than a professor, but at times, an extension of the student body who brought passion and knowledge to class after class of Scripps students.

“I was one of his early students right after he arrived at OU, so I feel like I’ve lost a really long-time friend,” Page said. “I used to tell him to keep his coat and tie on or he’d be mistaken for a student. But nobody was more devoted to his job or to us, his sometimes unruly charges, or to his mission which was to spread the joys of good journalism everywhere. He brought joy into every room and I feel as though our beleaguered-but-still-great profession has suffered a great loss.”

Izard was the author of seven books and published a wide range of articles in journalism and mass communications journals starting in 1977.

Alumnus Tom Price was another member of the first class of journalism students Dr. Izard taught at Ohio, and remembers his practical, hands-on approach to teaching journalism and his enduring commitment to working in the industry even during his academic career.

“What I appreciated most about him was that he came from the real world of working journalism and that he kept his hand in there after becoming a teacher,” Price said.

And while Izard was dedicated to all of his students, many alumni remember his never-ending support of the student journalists at The Post, through their many personal, professional, and academic highs and lows.

“Ralph must have grown soft-hearted toward Posties later in his career,” Price said. “He awarded me my only journalism C – for a class during my second semester as Post editor when I will admit my devotion to academics was less than perfect.”

In 2018, Izard offered a final tribute to Ohio with his last book, The Scripps School: Its Stories, People, and Legacy. Within the book’s pages, he gathered stories from almost 100 faculty and alumni of the school, pulling together numerous voices in a grand tribute to the school where Izard dedicated 32 years of his impressive career. And his dedication to the school and all its students could still be felt when he sent copies of his book to any donor who contributed $1,000 or more to Scripps scholarship funds.

It seems like an appropriate final piece in his long-stretching resume, one last dedication to the school he loved so much, and the assurance that another generation of Scripps students would be touched by the enduring impact he left behind.