Lorraine Branham, late dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, sent a letter on March 31 to Donald Newhouse, co-president of Advance Publications. She died three days later. Newhouse used Branham’s own words to celebrate her life at a service held in her memory on Thursday afternoon.

 “It has been the highlight of my professional, and to some extent my personal life, to lead and serve the Newhouse School,” Newhouse said, echoing the words Branham had sent to him. 

About 100 people sat listening to Newhouse, filling the pews of Hendricks Chapel to honor Branham’s life. Newhouse and other speakers at the memorial were reminded of Branham’s contributions to and legacy at Newhouse. Branham served as dean for 11 years until her death of cancer on April 2. 

Brian Konkol, dean of Hendricks, began the ceremony with a prayer. He asked the audience to bow their heads.

“We give thanks for Lorraine Branham: educator, innovator, dedicated truth teller,” Konkol said. 

Branham has worked as a newspaper journalist at The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Baltimore Sun. Before coming to Syracuse University in 2008, Branham served as the director of the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin.

Chancellor Kent Syverud said Branham transformed Newhouse, and he was grateful that she was recruited by former SU chancellor Nancy Cantor and members of the Newhouse community. 

Branham was a forceful leader, he said. She was someone that not only asked the tough questions, but listened to the answers. 

“Lorraine was a journalist who, all her life, believed in knowing facts and facing them squarely,” Syverud said. “She was fiercely loyal to people and institutions she believed in, and there were a lot of them.” 

He described Branham as a shepherd. She treated students, faculty and staff as individuals with the potential to grow and succeed, and she stood up for the people and values she believed in, he said. 

Branham once told Syverud there weren’t any good rankings of communications schools, as the rankings measured the wrong aspects. She said that a communications school should be measured by whether the students learn to write and think well, whether the alumni make the world proud and whether the school teaches integrity and change, Syverud said. 

“That’s the ranking you should care about, Chancellor,” Branham said to the chancellor. 

During Branham’s tenure as dean, she led Newhouse into new forms of media while staying true to the school’s journalistic roots, Syverud said. She created programs in Los Angeles and New York City, furthered innovations in digital media and entrepreneurship and cultivated the careers of many women and people of color, he said. 

When she was appointed dean in 2008, Branham became the first African American and the first woman to hold the position.

“Without her, I’m certain my experience at Newhouse would have been very different,” Taylor Epps, a senior broadcast and digital journalism major, said at the memorial. 

As an incoming freshman, Epps said she saw few black, female faces among her peers. She had convinced herself that she didn’t belong, but Branham proved her wrong, Epps said. Branham represented everything Epps wanted to be, serving as the perfect example of both black and journalistic excellence, she said. 

Branham truly cared for students and fostered a loving environment, Epps said. She said she is grateful to have known Branham and to have been a member of her family at Newhouse.

“We will continue to innovate, inspire, seek truth, and tell amazing stories. Just as she would have,” Epps said.

Melvin Williams, Branham’s husband, was the last to offer remarks at the memorial. He said his heart is filled with sorrow and pain, but the love expressed for Branham is helping him to make the most of the grieving process. 

“Yes, my angel is gone,” Williams said, his voice breaking. “My angel is gone, but she touched so many of us with her light that we shine on.”

The two met 25 years ago at an airport in Atlanta, when Branham entered the payphone booth next to Williams’ — though there were about 20 other empty ones, he said. He was smitten by Branham since that moment. 

Along with her students, the dean taught Williams as well, he said. She taught him to be a better person than the day before.

As for what Branham would have everyone do to carry on, Williams said the answer is to be bold and kind, to promote and value diversity, to fight for underrepresented people, to stand up for what’s right and to speak truth to power — all with a smile and a sense of humor. 

“Always remember that this girl loved you,” Williams said. 

Published on May 9, 2019 at 7:02 pm

Contact Emma: esfolts@syr.edu