Dan Rather to Return for 125th Anniversary Celebration
 Dan
Rather will return to Sam Houston State University April 16
to launch the 125th Anniversary Celebration of the school
that helped launch his career more than a half century ago.
Rather, anchor and managing editor for the CBS Evening News,
and correspondent for 60 Minutes II, will meet with students
and speak at the 125th Anniversary President's Dinner and
Concert.
Rather will present a lecture that will be open to the general
student body at 11 a.m. in the Beto Criminal Justice Center
Killinger Auditorium. He will also meet with communications
student leaders at 3 p.m. in the Rather Communications Building.
That evening he will be President James F. Gaertner's guest
at the dinner and concert that begins at 7 p.m. in the Lowman
Student Center Ballroom.
Often referred to as "the hardest working man in broadcast
journalism," Rather lives up to the description, immersed
in two major broadcasts, the CBS EVENING NEWS and 60 MINUTES
II.
His recently published seventh book, The American Dream, chronicles
the stories of a wide cross-section of Americans, describing
how they achieved their versions of the American dream.
In 2002 and 2003, the war on terrorism has taken him to Iraq,
Kuwait, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Israel. In February
2003, Rather secured the most sought-after interview in the
world: an exclusive one-on-one with Saddam Hussein in Baghdad,
the first the Iraqi leader has conducted with an American
journalist since 1991. Rather also reported from Kabul on
the United States' effort to oust the Taliban and from Jerusalem
and the West Bank during the largest Israeli military action
in two decades.
He gained special notice for his live anchoring of CBS News'
coverage of the Sept. 11 attacks and his around-the-clock
reporting in the days that followed. In the weeks after 9/11,
Rather filed reports from Ground Zero and on the attacks'
aftermath in New York and the nation for the prime time news
magazine 48 HOURS.
Born Oct. 31, 1931 in Wharton, Texas, Rather received a bachelor's
degree in journalism from Sam Houston State Teachers College
in 1953. He spent a year as a journalism instructor at Sam
Houston State, and also attended the University of Houston
and the South Texas School of Law.
Rather began his career in journalism in 1950 as an Associated
Press reporter in Huntsville, Texas. Later, he was a reporter
for United Press International (1950-52), KSAM Radio in Huntsville
(1950-53), KTRH Radio in Houston and the Houston Chronicle
(1954-55).
He became news director of KTRH in 1956 and a reporter for
KTRK-TV Houston in 1959. Prior to joining CBS News, Rather
was news director at KHOU-TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston.
Rather joined CBS News in 1962 as chief of its Southwest bureau
in Dallas. In 1963, he was appointed chief of the Southern
bureau in New Orleans, responsible for coverage of news events
in the South, Southwest, Mexico and Central America. During
that time, he reported on racial conflicts in the South and
the crusade of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the
death of President Kennedy.
Rather has returned to the Sam Houston State campus often
for events, including the 1993 celebration of the 200th birthday
of Texas hero Sam Houston and dedication ceremonies in October
1994, during which the university's communications building
was named in his honor.
In November 1996, he gave lectures on media ethics at Sam
Houston State and the University of Texas, which were available
electronically to students at both schools.
In 1998, Rather established what Sam Houston State students
have called one of the best broadcasting internships in the
United States, inviting three students per year to spend a
semester working at CBS News in New York City. He has credited
training in basics by Sam Houston State journalism professor
Hugh Cunningham as one of the keys to his success.
He was presented the Sam Houston State University Distinguished
Alumni Award in 1977.
- END -
SHSU Media Contact: Frank
Krystyniak
March 24, 2004
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