Washington -- The board of directors, staff and members of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists convey our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Dr. Mary Gardner whose work as a journalist and educator opened doors for many Latino journalists in the U.S. and Mexico.

Dr. Gardner, 84, passed away on Jan. 22 in East Lansing, Mich., of Alzheimer's disease. Her contributions to the field of journalism were honored by NAHJ last June in New York City when she was inducted to the association's Hall of Fame during the group's annual convention.

Dr. Gardner will be remembered as a pioneering professor of journalism. Born and raised in Chillicothe, Ohio, Dr. Gardner was the first woman to earn a PhD in journalism and political science at the University of Minnesota, the first woman to earn tenure as a professor of journalism at Michigan State University (MSU), and the first woman to be elected president of the Association for Journalism and Mass Communications. She also helped establish the "Hispanics in Journalism Program" at MSU, the first of its kind.

"Dr. Gardner was a great mentor and an inspiration to those who were fortunate enough to know her and work with her in and out of the classroom," said NAHJ Executive Director Iván Román. "We remember and pay tribute to Dr. Mary Gardner whose work has paved the way for more Latino journalists to enter the journalism profession. NAHJ extends its thoughts and prayers to her family and friends."

Dr. Gardner devoted much of her career to mentoring and nurturing the careers of Latino journalists in the United States and Mexican journalists in Mexico. She devoted much of her summers training reporters at El Norte in Monterrey, Mexico. For two decades she trained scores of young Mexican journalists. Her contributions are credited with helping El Norte become one of the country's most respected papers.

Dr. Gardner wrote extensively about issues affecting minority and Hispanic journalists in the United States. She also published numerous articles and papers about journalism in Latin America, including "The Press of Guatemala" and "The Evolution of the Inter-American Press Association."
Dr. Gardner graduated from Ohio State University in 1942 and received her master's degree in journalism in 1953. She enlisted in the Marine Corps during World War II and remained in the Reserves until 1974 when she retired as a Colonel.

In 1982, she received the Distinguished Faculty Award at MSU and in 1986, the MSU Woman Achievement Award. In her honor, the School of Journalism also created the Mary Gardner Scholars for outstanding students in journalism with a $100,000 gift from the El Norte and Grupo Reforma newspaper chains. Dr. Gardner retired as professor emeritus in 1991 and was inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame in 1998.