Category: Archives

George Morley/Charlie Kennedy Dedication

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Dear fellow Arizona Daily Wildcat Alums (and friends of Charlie and George):

It is a heartfelt honor to write this letter on behalf of the Arizona Daily Wildcat and the many people who have invested in and been rewarded by having spent time there. I have two meaningful developments to share with you.

First: The Arizona Daily Wildcat and the University of Arizona are pleased to announce that the Wildcat’s business and marketing offices are to be renamed the George B. Morley II / Charlie Kennedy Business Development Center. This official dedication acknowledges and honors two wonderful men who influenced and inspired many Wildcat students in the past and whose spirits will continue to do so in the future.

The dedication will take place April 10, 2017 at 11:30 a.m., in the Student Media offices, 615 N. Park Avenue, on the UA campus. The ceremony will be followed by refreshments and memorable conversations, in the company of members of George’s and Charlie’s families.

If you’d like to attend, please reach out to Faith Edman at azstudentmedia@wildcat.arizona.edu or call (520) 626-6699 to RSVP by March 29, 2017. If you are unable to come but would like to share a memory or thoughts about George and/or Charlie, please email them to the above address.

Secondly, I am proud to say that the Wildcat’s Innovation in Media campaign has raised more than $80,000 to date and is still growing. Funds are used for training and technology which benefit the Wildcat’s many students preparing to embark on professional careers. The campaign was established in 2014 to raise money and resources to empower and enable the Daily Wildcat marketing, sales and newsroom staffs to navigate the disruptive media landscape that all media organizations face.

If you are interested in contributing to the Arizona Daily Wildcat Innovation in Media Fund in honor of George Morley and Charlie Kennedy, please click on the link below: http://dailywildcat.com/innovation. Include the honoree’s name in the comment box. Please contact Student Media director Brett Fera, bfera@email.arizona.edu, (520) 621-3408, if you have any questions.

Wishing you and yours all the best and continued success.

–Chris Oldre (Wildcat sales rep ’90-’92)

Chris & Charlie

Background info:

GEORGE MORLEY’s 15 years leading the Daily Wildcat’s advertising department was his second career — one that made a significant difference in the lives of many Wildcat students.

Joining the staff in 1978, Morley brought polish and professionalism as a former 28-year member of the U.S. Foreign Service to the Wildcat, where he served as advertising manager until his retirement in 1993. He always wore a tie and jacket and set high standards. During these years, the Wildcat became fully independent financially from the university and Morley’s staffs regularly began bringing in the $1 million plus required to sustain the Wildcat’s excellence.He passed away in March 2003.

CHARLIE KENNEDY enrolled at the UA in 1988 and graduated in 1992. Charlie was an SAE and joined the Daily Wildcat as an Advertising Sales Account Executive in 1990. Charlie, who passed away far too young, is remembered for his reputation, dedication and sense of brotherhood. Truth be told, Charlie was George’s favorite. Rightfully so — 2 Irish guys with similar work ethic, passion and moral code.

Call for Wildcat Hall of Fame Nominations

2014 Hall of Fame inductees, left to right: Frank Rizzo, John D'Anna, Tim Fuller, Mark Emmons, Joe Cole, Joshua Moss, Joni Hirsch Blackman, Chris Oldre
2014 Hall of Fame inductees

Arizona Daily Wildcat alumni have inducted 67 former Wildcatters or advisers into the Daily Wildcat Hall of Fame since its inception in 2001. Our alumni have distinguished themselves nationally in journalism and many other fields. The Daily Wildcat Hall of Fame includes Pulitzer Prize winners as well as alumni who excelled in law, business, technology, film producing, education, and even horse-racing.

It’s now time for the next round of nominations. Do you know someone who deserves to be honored in the Hall of Fame? Please submit a nomination by April 15, 2016.

We are in the early stages of planning the Wildcat Alumni Hall of Fame and Young Alumni Awards ceremony, possibly for late January 2017.

Is there someone you’d like to nominate for a Wildcat Young Alumni Award? We’ll be sending out details soon.

If you have any questions, please email Student Media interim director Brett Fera or call him at (520) 621-3408.

Stay tuned!

Daily Wildcat Innovation in Media Campaign Underway

The Arizona Daily Wildcat has kicked off its Innovation in Media fundraising campaign, with momentum provided from generous lead donors to get us rolling.


The goal of the campaign is to help the Wildcat and our students continue their evolution into a sleek and potent news organization. The funds raised in this 3-year drive will provide training and technology support for both the news and advertising areas.


Our goal is to raise $250,000. It’s an ambitious and somewhat daunting amount, but with your help, it will ensure the Wildcat will continue to provide robust news, media and information to our devoted consumers and provide students the skills and experience needed for the future.


Please consider being a part of our campaign. You can read more about it here. Thank you!

Mark Woodhams Retiring, Come Celebrate His Career!

woodhams_extraextra3He came. He saw. He blew the doors off the ‘Glass House.’

After 31 years as a presence across the national student media landscape, Mark Woodhams, director of Arizona Student Media and adviser to The Daily Wildcat for more than two decades, will retire from his current post at the University of Arizona at the end of February.

Family, friends, students, former colleagues and any of the so many others impacted by his work are invited to a celebration of Mark’s career in student media on Saturday, Feb. 28, at Amalour (formerly known as Bodega), 4340 N Campbell Avenue (St. Philip’s Plaza) in Tucson. Look for the Daily Wildcat banner. Join us from 3:30 – 6:00, with a special presentation at 4:30. We’d be most grateful for an RSVP via either our Facebook event page or on EventBrite.

Mark and his family arrived in Tucson 22 years ago, after nine years in a similar role at Northeastern University in Boston. He’s revered by students and our professional staff alike for his direct, often brutally honest, approach, his ability to balance the historical expectations of strong journalism with the demands for innovation in an ever-changing media landscape and his commitment to the future of this department – let alone opportunities for young journalists across the board.

As we look forward to celebrating with Mark in the coming weeks, here are a few words from the man himself on what working in student media has meant to him:

(Via Facebook) “… The past three decades have been a great ride. I have been exceedingly privileged — beyond what you can imagine — to have worked alongside so many outrageously talented students. For some of them this may be hard to believe (given my sometimes crusty and curmudgeonly reputation), but they have rewarded me many times over. And what a tribute to the essence of their work on their college newspaper to see so many be successful professionally across lots of fields, not just journalism … So I guess you could call “no fair.” Students have done all the work and I’ve just sat back and loved every minute of it …

“… But the reality is that come March 1 a new era will begin, and I have every reason to see it as a really positive time for new energy and creativity around the Wildcat and all our student media. One thing will always remain: students are drawn to working on their college newspaper (we’ll use newspaper as shorthand for the multiple platform news organizations they have become) for the kind of compelling, independent and rewarding hands-on experience that they cannot get in a class or at an internship. It’s what makes the student press central not just to the future of journalism but also to the educational mission of a great university.”

Innovation in Media Fund Campaign Launched

cropped BrittnyPhotoDeskWe’re excited to announce the Daily Wildcat Innovation in Media campaign. This  is a 3-year campaign with a goal to raise $250,000 for the Daily Wildcat.   These funds are essential as we continue to innovate and transition into new media models that best serve our readers, our advertisers and our student workers.  Please join other Wildcat alumni and friends in supporting this effort by joining our Wildcat Innovators Circle. For information on the campaign and how to donate, click here. You can also read Director of Student Media Mark Woodhams’ campaign letter.

Daily Wildcat to Honor 9 Young Alumni Achievers

New media, old media, sales, technology, entrepreneurship, law and creative writing are all front and center in the careers of nine young Wildcat alumni – out of school for 10 years or less – who will receive the Wildcat’s Young Alumni Achievement Award at the Hall of Fame banquet and reunion on Jan. 25.  Read about the 2013 winners here.


Have photos or memories to share?

Have memories about George Morley, Clyde Lowery,  Mark Woodhams, or other folks you worked with at the Daily Wildcat? Would you like to share how working at the Wildcat has influenced your life, your successes? Please email them and any photos you have to share, and we’ll post them on our Testimonial page. Let us know if it’s okay to use your name.

Alumnus Issues $50,000 Challenge

Dear Wildcat Alumni & Friends:

I am writing to let you know of a new gift the Wildcat has received. This is a commitment of $50,000 from alumnus Chris Halligan ’89, who was a Wildcat sports writer.  Chris has indicated he wants to support student initiatives, development and training in all areas in the Wildcat workplace.

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Chris has also issued a challenge for other alumni and friends to match his gift over the next five years with a goal of $10,000 each year.  In the months ahead we will organize a fund drive to help meet and track this challenge, and we hope you will be able to participate.  If you would like to begin now by donating, please visit our “How to Donate” page.

As the college media landscape evolves, the Wildcat has responded by widening its digital footprint, creating new advertising platforms, and adapting to shifting readership habits. The need to provide our student workforce with the training and tools to meet these challenges will take the support of all of you who value the Daily Wildcat experience and independent campus journalism.

Our thanks to Chris Halligan—a successful technology entrepreneur who was inducted into the Daily Wildcat Alumni Hall of Fame this past March—for initiating this challenge.  “Do good things,” he wrote when making his gift.  With your help, we will.

Mark Woodhams
Director, Arizona Student Media
and Adviser, Arizona Daily Wildcat