Paul Brinkman Obituary

Paul Delbert "Del" Brinkman, who began his career as a journalist for a newspaper once edited by William Allen White and retired 48 years later as a distinguished journalism educator and dean, died February 19. He was 86 and lived in Overland Park.

Del was born in Olpe, Kansas, to Paul and Delphine Brinkman, the oldest of five children who lived on the family's farm. It was there he first heard the St. Louis Cardinals on the radio, sparking a lifelong love of baseball and kindling an interest in journalism. He graduated from Olpe High School and attended Emporia State University, where he earned a degree in English and Social Science.

While in college, he worked for The Emporia Gazette and after graduation taught English and journalism at Leavenworth High School before pursuing graduate studies at Indiana University in Bloomington, where he earned a master's degree in journalism in 1963 and a doctorate in mass communication in 1971. He was on the journalism faculty at Kansas State University from 1965-1968 before joining the William Allen White School of Journalism at Kansas in 1970, where he worked until 1993.

While at KU, Del led the journalism school as dean for 11 years before serving as vice chancellor for academic affairs for seven years. He was KU's faculty representative to the Big Eight Conference and NCAA for 15 years. He twice chaired the Big Eight Conference and led the search committee that hired Carl James as conference commissioner. He also served on numerous search committees at KU, including in 1988, when Roy Williams was named KU's seventh basketball coach.

Del left KU in 1993 to become Director of Journalism Programs at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in Miami, where he oversaw the foundation's journalism grant programs and new education initiatives. In 2001, he left the Knight Foundation to become dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Colorado-Boulder, where he retired in 2002. Throughout his career, he also was active in journalism education curriculum development and national accreditation. He was president of the accreditation committee of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. He received numerous awards, including recognition as a distinguished alumnus from Emporia State and Indiana University's Distinguished Alumni Service Award.

In retirement, Del remained active in numerous professional and civic organizations. He served on the Colorado Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board and was an Honorary Trustee of the William Allen White Foundation at KU. For 15 years, he served as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Knight International Press Fellowship and was a public member of the American Bar Association's Council on the Accreditation of Law Schools.

In a commencement address, Del once told journalism graduates at Colorado about the "six G's" of life: a person who is great and good, grateful and gracious, generous and glad is likely to live a happy, successful life. Friends, students and colleagues will remember Del for all of those qualities, and will miss his curious mind and kind spirit.

Del was a doting father and grandfather who loved spending time with his grandchildren.

Del was preceded in death by his parents; first wife, Evie; second wife, Carolyn; and his sister, Rosie Pounder. He is survived by his sister Barbara Becker; brothers Ronnie and Marvin; son Scott; daughter Susan Moeser (Chris); stepchildren Cindy Cummings (Bill), Debra Baker and Jeff Backer (Jennifer); grandchildren Kelsey Brinkman, Jack and Claire Moeser; step-grandchildren Chris Baker, Kim Bergman (Dan), Nicole Cummings, Katie and Jack Backer; and five step-great grandchildren. He will be buried at Pioneer Cemetery at KU next to his wife, Evie, who died in 1988.

Memorial donations may be made to the Dean Del Brinkman Journalism Scholarship at KU Endowment, P.O. Box 928, Lawrence, KS 66044, or online at www.kuendowment.org/givenow.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

Online condolences may be sent at rumsey-yost.com.