20-year MJF veteran Heckler left strong legacy for journalism students

Most students who took journalism classes with associate professor Cheryl Heckler came to know her passion for Whitelaw Reid, an 1856 Miami graduate and Civil War-era journalist and newspaper publisher.

Heckler called Reid Miami's most famous journalism graduate. "Who," she asked students on the first day of classes, "is going to be the next Whitelaw Reid?"

It was Heckler's way of inspiring her classes, from syllabus week throughout the semester.

That question is one Jenna Sauber '07, a former Miami Student editor who studied journalism, won't forget.

When Sauber moved to Washington, D.C. after graduation, she sent her former professor a message on Facebook.

"I can't promise I'll be the next Whitelaw Reid, but I'll do my best," Sauber wrote Heckler.

Years later, Heckler recalled Sauber's promise in another conversation: "Clearly, my dear, you are well on your way to giving Reid a run for his money."

The memory had Sauber tearing up days after Heckler died suddenly Feb. 18.

"It just really moved me, because Cheryl was always such an inspiration," Sauber told The Student. "She never stopped being her students' cheerleader, never stopped encouraging them to go for what they wanted."

Nor did Heckler stop seeking innovative ways to teach journalism -- when the Netflix documentary series "Making a Murderer" was released, she spent a week discussing the role of journalism in the Steven Avery case. And in her "Media and the Military" course, Heckler brought students to a gun range with Miami's ROTC instructors so they would better understand their subjects.

Leah Rupp Smith, who worked with Sauber at The Miami Student when Heckler served as the paper's advisor, recalls nights the editorial staff spent at Heckler's house, enjoying home-cooked pasta and board games and talking about journalism.

"She [was] a human being, and she [was] not afraid to show you that side. She's not just a cold instructor, she was a real friend," Rupp Smith said. "I don't know any of her students that wouldn't say that about her."

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

Senior Olivia Weinberg remembers being in Heckler's classroom for her very first college class.

"I was honestly terrified because it was my first day of college," Weinberg said. "I had never met somebody so unique in my entire life, I don't think. I just remember being in awe of her."

In Heckler's last semester at Miami -- she was on medical leave this spring -- she taught Journalism 101 and, in an effort to get to know each of her students better, made it a stipulation in the syllabus that each one would need to visit her office hours three times during the semester.

Midway through the term, though, Heckler's health declined; she'd faced a number of health issues, mostly stemming from a breast cancer diagnosis, throughout the last several years. So Heckler confessed to her colleague, senior lecturer Patti Newberry, that she was reducing the syllabus requirement to two office visits.

"I thought, 'Well, you're doing way more than most people,'" Newberry said with a laugh. "Most of us don't require office hours at all. That was how dedicated and how much she wanted to get to know students."

"She had a real knack for finding a student who needed a friend," Newberry, whose office was next to Heckler's, said.

Oftentimes, Heckler forged those friendships literally as well as figuratively -- she often connected with her students on Facebook even before their first day of class with her. It was a policy Newberry came to admire, having originally opposed student-teacher interactions on social media.

Once, Heckler offered Weinberg's class an extra-credit assignment: Go outside, make a snow angel and send her a photo. Whoever had the best snow angel, Heckler promised, would make an appearance on her Facebook page.

Also at Miami, Heckler founded and helped fund the Reid-Heckler-Gambrell Scholarship for Overseas Reporting, which was named for Whitelaw Reid, herself and a former student, Associated Press senior Gulf correspondent Jon Gambrell.

A 1981 Miami graduate who returned to Oxford as a faculty member in 1997, Heckler also enjoyed a robust career as a journalist, focusing on international reporting and the intersection of religion and politics.

She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Miami and a master's from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton and published two books, co-authoring a third. While teaching at Miami, Heckler doubled as a correspondent for the Geneva, Switzerland-based religion wire service Ecumenical News International. Her byline appeared in over 100 newspapers, and she once scored an interview with Jimmy Carter by befriending the former president's pastor.

"Southern people can't say no to their pastors," Heckler, a devout Christian herself, had reasoned. "If you need an interview with someone, befriend their pastor."

In her later years, Heckler discovered two new passions -- her golden doodle, Pip, and painting -- both of which were featured frequently on her Facebook page.

The last Facebook post Heckler made was on Feb. 16.

"I've proclaimed today National Gratitude Day," her status read. "What are you most grateful for?"

For Sauber, Heckler herself was the answer.

"She always was there to be the proud teacher, the proud mentor and friend, no matter what. And no matter all her own challenges that she was going through."

And in Sauber's estimation, Heckler gave Whitelaw Reid a run for his money, too.

Cheryl Heckler died at age 59 at her home in Carthagena, Ohio. Memorial services were held last weekend in her hometown of Celina, Ohio; the Department of Media, Journalism and Film is planning a memorial service in Oxford for later this spring.

zahneime@miamioh.edu

@MeganZahneis