Walter Williams was the founder of the Missouri School of Journalism

Missouri School of Journalism

The Missouri School of Journalism at University of Missouri in Columbia, claims to be the oldest formal journalism school in the world. Founded in 1908, only the Ecole Supérieure de Journalisme de Paris established in 1899 may be older...

 and a former president of the University of Missouri

University of Missouri

The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

. An internationalist

Internationalism (politics)

Internationalism is a political movement which advocates a greater economic and political cooperation among nations for the theoretical benefit of all...

, he promoted the value of journalism globally.

Biography

Williams was born in Boonville, Missouri

Boonville, Missouri

This page is about the city in Missouri. For other communities of the same name, see Boonville Boonville is a city in Cooper County, Missouri, USA. The population was 8,202 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cooper County. The city was the site of a skirmish early in the American Civil...

. After graduating Boonville High School he served as an apprentice at the Boonville Topic where he made 75 cents a week, and then moved to the Boonville Advertiser. In 1888 he worked doing press releases for the Missouri State Penitentiary. After the warden began censoring his releases he resigned and began editing the Columbia Herald and began making contributions to Jefferson City, Kansas City and St. Louis newspapers and was named president of the Missouri Press Association. In 1895 he was named president of the National Editorial Association.

He began lobbying the Missouri General Assembly to establish a school of journalism in 1895. Many newspapers objected saying that reporters should follow the traditional apprentice route for training. The state eventually approved it with launching in 1908 with Williams as dean.

In 1902, Williams traveled to 27 nations on four continents to publicize the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair to the international press. After founding the School of Journalism, he continued to travel the globe, serving as a relentless publicist for both the School and the profession of journalism. In 1915, he was elected president of the Press Congress of the World; and led its first formal sessions in Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

 in 1921. That same year, he lectured in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

 and Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

, and established a department of journalism at China's Yenching University

Yenching University

Yenching University was a university in Beijing, China. It integrated three Christian colleges in the city in 1919. Yenching is an alternative name of Beijing - derived from its status as capital of Yan state, one of the seven Warring States from 5th century BC to 3rd century BC.The university...

 in 1928.

In 1930, he established the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism.

Williams wrote the Journalist's Creed

Journalist's Creed

The Journalist's Creed is a code of ethics written around 1906 by Walter Williams shortly after founding the Missouri School of Journalism.-The creed:-References:...

 which is often evoked as the definitive code of ethics for journalists. It is posted in bronze at the National Press Club in Washington, DC and at the School of Journalism.

Williams never attended college, although honorary degrees were conferred upon him by Missouri Valley College

Missouri Valley College

Missouri Valley College is a private, four-year liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church . The campus is in Marshall, Missouri.The college was founded in 1889 and supports 27 academic majors and an enrollment close to 1,800 students...

 in 1900; Kansas State University

Kansas State University

Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...

 in 1909 and Washington University in 1926. A member of the university's Board of Curators, Williams became president of the University of Missouri in 1931 until his death in 1935. Before his death, he was initiated as an honorary brother of the Acacia Fraternity

Acacia Fraternity

Acacia Fraternity is a Greek social fraternity originally based out of Masonic tradition. At its founding in 1904, membership was originally restricted to those who had taken the Masonic obligations, and the organization was built on those ideals and principles. Within one year, four other Masonic...

. He was buried in Columbia Cemetery.

Legacy

A new journalism building on the Columbia, Missouri campus was named for him in 1936. A World War II liberty ship

Liberty ship

Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...

, SS Walter Williams (hull MC No. 2271) was named in his honor.

Williams has a group of scholars named after him at the University of Missouri, who are journalism students directly admitted to the journalism program who have received a 33 or above on their ACT (or 1450 on the SAT) in high school.

The Walter Williams Club is the name of the alumni association of University of Missouri Journalism School graduates.

External links

• School of Journalism biography
• University of Missouri biography
• The Walter Williams Library at the Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books, Ellis Library
  Ellis Library
  Constructed in 1914, Ellis Library is the main library of the University of Missouri System located on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. It was named for former university president Elmer Ellis...
  
  , University of Missouri
  University of Missouri
  The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...