FORT WORTH - Texas Christian University is naming its journalism school after one of its most well-known graduates, Bob Schieffer, who will be interim anchor of the CBS Evening News starting Thursday night.
Schieffer, a 1959 graduate of the private Fort Worth university, was to speak at the naming ceremony Tuesday, along with Tom Brokaw, former "NBC Nightly News" anchor. Schieffer is the chief Washington correspondent for CBS News and moderator of "Face the Nation." He is about to step in for retiring anchor Dan Rather, whose final telecast is Wednesday night.
Other journalists scheduled to attend the ceremony and participate in a "State of American Journalism" symposium Tuesday afternoon include Tom Friedman, columnist for The New York Times; Jim Lehrer, host of PBS' "NewsHour"; and Bob Woodward, assistant managing editor for The Washington Post.
Brokaw also was to be on the panel, and Larry King, host of CNN's "Larry King Live," was to serve as moderator.
TCU started thinking several years ago about changing its growing journalism department to a school and wanted to name it for a respected, accurate, ethical reporter. Schieffer immediately came to mind, university officials said.
"It'll raise our visibility. It already has," said Bill Slater, dean of TCU's College of Communication, which houses the Schieffer School of Journalism. "I think we have an excellent program here, and now, more people are beginning to notice."
Schieffer plans to visit the campus several times each semester and work one-on-one with students, who are excited about learning from a legend, said Tommy Thomason, director of the journalism school.
About 500 students are enrolled in the journalism school at TCU, which was established in 1873 and now has more than 8,600 students.
An Austin native, Schieffer went to TCU with plans to become a doctor. He began his journalism career at TCU's student newspaper, The Daily Skiff.
He then worked for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where one day in November 1963 he happened to take a call from a woman asking for a ride to Dallas to be with her son, Lee Harvey Oswald, who had just been charged in the assassination of President Kennedy.
Schieffer then worked for Dallas-Fort Worth television station WBAP, now KXAS, before going to CBS News in 1969.
Schieffer, who has won six Emmy awards, in 2002 was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame and named broadcaster of the year by the National Press Foundation. He has written two books and was moderator of one of last fall's televised debates between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry.
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