Kym Fox

Yesterday, 06:00 AM

Kym Fox, professor of practice and coordinator of the graduate instructional assistants in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC) at Texas State University, died on July 19 at age 65 after a battle with cancer.

For more than 20 years, Fox led the journalism major program and served as program coordinator. She developed and taught undergraduate and graduate courses, including data journalism and the journalism capstone course.

“It’s difficult to imagine the journalism world without Kym Fox,” said Dr. Judy Oskam, professor and director of SJMC. “The legacy and spirit of Professor Fox will live on in the many students and faculty she has mentored over the years at Texas State.”

Fox moved from the newsroom to the classroom after spending 23 years as a daily journalist. She worked at the San Antonio Express-News before joining the Texas State faculty in 2002. For most of her 18 years at the paper, she covered courts and legal affairs.

Fox worked at the Mesa Tribune as a copy editor, section editor and reporter after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Arizona State University. She also earned a master’s degree from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio.

As a reporter, she earned awards for coverage of child abuse and juvenile justice as well as state honors for news and feature writing.

Fox was a member of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) since college. She was a former national board member and had been honored with the SPJ President’s Award for her work with the #Press4Education initiative, which serves scholastic journalism.

She also advised the Texas State student SPJ chapter for several years, and she loved helping with the SPJ San Antonio chapter’s annual fundraiser, Gridiron. She also was a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors.

Fox was a fellow with the university’s Translational Health Research Center and a founding director of Texas Community Health News. She was honored twice with the Texas State University Presidential Award for Excellence, once for service in 2008 and teaching in 2013.

“Professor Fox was a dedicated servant and leader who mentored students, faculty, and journalists around the world,” said Dr. John Fleming, dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication. “With her people-first approach, she understood the big picture and the smallest of details.”

To honor her legacy, a scholarship has been established in her name. The Kym Fox Endowed Scholarship in Journalism and Mass Communication will provide funding for graduate students in SJMC.