George S. Turnbull

George S. Turnbull came to the University of Oregon from the copydesk of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 1917, after over a decade in the newspaper business . He was hired at the UO as a professor by fellow Seattle newspaperman Eric Allen, the first dean of the School of Journalism.

In Eugene, Turnbull taught reporting and editing — often sharing fascinating stories of his experiences in the world of journalism. He is remembered as a devoted and kind teacher who helped his students transition from the university to their own journalism careers. Upon his retirement, former student and later federal judge Ted Goodwin ‘47 noted “a man can't spend four years in the same building with George Turnbull and not learn something.”

Turnbull served as dean of the School of Journalism from 1944 to 1948, strengthening the foundations set forth by Eric Allen. He improved the quality of the school by adding new faculty members and securing new equipment such as a printer-telegraph machine.

A member of the board of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association and author of dozens of articles on journalism, Turnbull is also remembered for his impact on the newspaper industry in Oregon. He authored four books, including A History of Oregon Newspapers , the first and to date only comprehensive history of newspapers in Oregon (1939).

Another former dean of the School of Journalism, the late John L. Hulteng, said Turnbull “made his imprint on a dozen generations of students because he was genuinely and lastingly concerned with them and their professional and personal growth.” He called Turnbull “the embodiment of the responsibility and integrity needed for excellent journalism.”

When Turnbull received the UO Distinguished Service Award in 1971, then-university president Robert D. Clark wrote: “The word retirement is a formality in Professor Turnbull's case, for since 1948 he has continued to be active and productive as a working journalist, as a teacher and as a writer to the present day.” After his retirement, Turnbull was a visiting professor at Stanford, the University of Nebraska and the University of Florida at Gainesville. Later in this so-called retirement he also worked as a copy editor and editorial writer for The Oregonian and later as associate editor at the Albany Democrat-Herald . He returned to the UO to resume research in journalism history and was active in the journalism program into the 1970's. Turnbull, who spent more years at the Journalism school than any other faculty member to date, died in 1977. A reading room in the School of Journalism and Communication's Duniway Journalism Resource Center bears his name. George Turnbull was inducted into the inaugural class of the school's Hall of Achievement in 1998.