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Former chair of Moody College of Communication’s journalism department and long-time professor Dr. Maxwell McCombs passed away on September 8, 2024, at the age of 85.
McCombs, Jesse H. Jones Centennial Chair in Communication Emeritus, has long been recognized as a pioneer in journalism because of his groundbreaking research into “agenda-setting” and the power of reporters to frame the crucial topics of the day. He taught at The University of Texas at Austin for 27 years. Previously, he was on the faculty at Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and UCLA.
“Max McCombs was a giant in the field of journalism studies and a foundational member of the Moody College Department of Journalism and Media,” said David Ryfe, director of the department. “His agenda-setting theory offered a framework through which generations of scholars have assessed the impact of journalism on public life. His impact at Moody College was equally profound. Through his administrative and intellectual leadership, the Department of Journalism and Media has become renowned for first-rate and cutting-edge research on American journalism.”
About the Maxwell McCombs Graduate Student Award for Research Publishing Endowment
To encourage scholarly publishing by graduate students, Dr. McCombs created a research publishing award in 2006 for graduate students who had published at least one peer-reviewed journal article during the previous 12 months. Since then, generous UT journalism faculty and administrators, former graduate students, friends of McCombs, AEJMC members, and Dr. McCombs himself and his wife Betsy McCombs have contributed to the fund to make it a permanent endowment.
Paula M. Poindexter, Ph.D., professor of journalism and media at The University of Texas at Austin, has been a champion for the award since the beginning, leading the endowment fundraising effort and administering the annual graduate student research publishing award program in which School of Journalism and Media graduate students who are recipients of the award receive a cash prize and certificate.
Since 2006, 83 School of Journalism and Media graduate students have been honored with the Maxwell McCombs Graduate Student Award for Research Publishing. According to Poindexter, many recipients of this prestigious graduate student award are now distinguished journalism and communication professors in the U.S. and around the world. Others are University administrators or media industry professionals.
