A. Gayle Waldrop collection

Arthur Gayle Waldrop was born on October 10, 1899. Waldrop was awarded his BA at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, circa 1920. After graduating, Waldrop then attended the University of Chicago and then received an MA in journalism from Columbia University in 1922. Waldrop was initially appointed assistant professor at Colorado State University.

However, he was soon hired as an instructor in the School of Journalism at the University Colorado, in the fall of 1922. Waldrop was one of two faculty members at the time; but Waldrop helped improve and expand the School of Journalism during his career. While working at the University, Waldrop became the Director of Journalism in 1948. By the time he gave up the directorship in 1960, the School of Journalism had a faculty of five. He then returned to his faculty position full-time until 1968. During Waldrop’s tenure, he remained interested in his student’s work and encouraged them to improve their writing. One of the main tools he used was his book: Editor and Editorial Writer, which his students continued to use after their classwork; extending Waldrop’s influence in the profession through his alumni in the field. In 1968, Waldrop received the Robert L. Stearns Award from the Alumni Association, which is given to a staff or faculty for extraordinary work when they have shown a combination of teaching, service to the university, research, and working with students. Finally in 1968, Waldrop retired after teaching for 46 years, improving the School of Journalism, and then spent 16 years working with the university’s public relations. As a professor, Waldrop mentored several well-known authors and editors. Waldrop was the first educator to be elected as a member of the National Conference of Editorial Writers, which recognizes and supports the improvement of, and excellence in, editorial writing.

When Waldrop was not involved in writing articles, he remained occupied with several associations and created a new journalism program. Waldrop became the president of both the American Association of Schools and Departments of Journalism and the American Association of Teachers of Journalism; and other Journalism organizations while teaching at University of Colorado. In recognition of Waldrop’s stature in the journalism field, in 1964 Waldrop was selected to create a journalism program at the University of Baghdad in Baghdad.

After World War I, as part of Colorado’s shift from mining to tourism, Boulder and the University sought to promote mountaineering and backcountry hiking. Waldrop was a dedicated hiker; a member of the Colorado Mountain Club, and a faculty sponsor of the CU Hiking Club, two of Colorado’s oldest hiking organizations. One of Waldrop’s main leisure activities was hiking; it was a major reason why he moved to Boulder. At one point Waldrop was asked how many times he hiked Pikes Peak, he responded by saying “Oh, I stopped counting.” In addition to hiking Pikes Peak, after retirement Waldrop traveled to Africa to hike Mount Kilimanjaro and to New Zealand to walk the Milford Track. Waldrop’s involvement in the CMC resulted in his election to a leadership position in the Colorado Mountain Club from 1934 to 1945. Professor Waldrop was also involved with the off campus community in Boulder. He was a member of the Boulder Rotary Club, Town and Gown and was elected to the Boulder City Council. While in the Town and Gown and the city council, Waldrop extended the university’s influence on the Boulder Community. While Waldrop was an assistant professor at Colorado State University, he married Gwendolyn Meux on September 18, 1925. Gwen Meux was born on April 4, 1893 and she became an artist and helped professors in the School of Art at the University of Colorado. In 1932 Waldrop and Gwen had a son Henry, but he was died in 1975 in a kayaking accident. Gwen died from a heart attack on July 12, 1973. In 1976 Waldrop then married his second wife, Frances “Peg” Mabee, but Frances died in 1991. Professor Waldrop died on December 8, 1995

Michaels, Judith, “DeLeon Comanche County, Texas, Friday September 18, 1925,” 2005. Retrieved from: http://www.comanchepubliclibrary.com/DFP/dlf_19250918.htm. Colorado University Students Directory, 1922-23, 20. Colorado University Students Directory, 1959-60, 20. Colorado University Students Directory, 1967-68 Association of Opinion Journalists, “Foundations,” 2003. Retrieved from: http://www.opinionjournalists.org/index.php?submenu=AboutAOJ&src=gendocs&ref=AboutNCEW&category=Main. University of Baghdad, “Historic View,” 2013, Retrieved from: http://www.en.uobaghdad.edu.iq/PageViewer.aspx?id=50. University of Colorado, The Coloradoan 1927 Yearbook, University of Colorado Hiking Club, pg 270. See Gwen Meux Waldrop Collection, Archives, University of Colorado Boulder Libraries; Michaels, Judith, “DeLeon Comanche County, Texas, Friday September 18, 1925,” 2005. Retrieved from: http://www.comanchepubliclibrary.com/DFP/dlf_19250918.htm.; Canadian Women Artists History Initiative, “Mews, Gwendolyn (Waldrop),” July 5, 2012. Retrieved from: http://cwahi.concordia.ca/sources/artists/displayArtist.php?ID_artist=251. David Cook Galleries, “Gwendolyn Dufill Meux (1893 – 1973),” 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.davidcookgalleries.com/artist/gwendolyn-meux. Boulder Daily Camera, “Gwendolyn Meux Waldrop,” July 12, 1973.