Dr. Rachel Davis Mersey, recently appointed Dean of Moody College of Communication, will be the featured speaker at the 11th annual Friends of The Daily Texan Hall of Fame gathering on the University of Texas campus on March 22.
Mersey served as Interim Dean for 7 months and was appointed Dean in January 2024.
Moody Dean Rachel Davis Mersey
The March 22 gathering will begin at 5 p.m. with an outdoor reception on the Walter Cronkite Plaza, located between the Texas Student Media building and the Moody College of Communication complex. There will be a variety of food and beverage stations.
Also beginning at 5 p.m. will be a tour and visitation time at the adjacent Daily Texan offices.
The reception ends at 6:45 p.m., and then moves to a nearby Moody auditorium for Dr. Mersey’s address, Hall of Fame selections and the award of scholarships to staff members.
The event will begin at 7:15 p.m sharp, and end at 9:30 p.m.
Registration for the event is now open at this link: https://friendsdailytexan.wildapricot.org/event-5556362
At the time of her selection, Mersey said, “I am honored to take the helm in a community as talented and dedicated as Moody’s. I am committed to working collaboratively to do the right things for the right reasons. I am humbled to have been asked to serve.”
Mersey holds an appointment in the School of Journalism and Media as Everett D. Collier Centennial Chair. She has worked extensively with academics and industry partners to research, develop and launch new media products and is an expert in identity salience and media use, the influence of digital media on community-building, and understanding audiences and their information needs. With more than 15 years of experience in higher education and academic administration, she brings a passion for connecting scholarship and professional practice to grant-supported research and projects.
Mersey joined Moody College in 2020 as the associate dean for research. In that position, she was a champion for research and creative projects and expanded the role of the research office to address the funding and support needs of Moody College’s professional track faculty. She provided hands-on guidance for research and related support and managed year-over-year growth in both proposals and expenditures.
“This event is a terrific opportunity for former staff members and supporters of The Daily Texan and student journalism to gather, hear from the new Dean and celebrate the successes of new Hall of Fame members,” said John Reetz, president of Friends of The Daily Texan, Inc.
In addition, 13 Daily Texan staffers will receive annual grants from the Friends of The Texan group and its partners. Since 2018, 36 Texan staffers have received annual scholarship grants from the Friendsgroup.
Also, 9 new members of The Daily Texan Hall of Fame will be introduced, and two Rising Star awards will be presented.
Previous Hall of Fame honorees include Walter Cronkite, Lady Bird Johnson, Willie Morris, Liz Smith, Liz Smith, Liz Carpenter and other distinguished Texan grads.
About Friends of The Daily Texan:
Friends of The Daily Texan, Inc. is a non-profit organization established to lend support and assistance to The Daily Texan, an institution at the University of Texas at Austin since 1900. Members include alumni of The Texan, plus other supporters of a free and unfettered student media at UT. The group sponsors annual scholarships for Texan staffers, plus provides funds to purchase needed video and photo equipment, to support digital transition efforts by The Texan, for training, coverage, travel and others needs identified by Texan editors.