VCU news

By Emily Richardson
VCU College of Humanities and Sciences

A career journalist and a Virginia Commonwealth University instructor for over 15 years, Mary Ann Owens is remembered by former students and faculty colleagues as a force.

“When I think of capital-J journalism, I think of her,” said Zach Joachim, a 2018 mass communications graduate.

Owens, who died Dec. 5 in North Carolina, began teaching in the journalism track at VCU’s Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture in 2005. Her courses included Reporting for Print and Web and Journalism Writing, the first course most journalism students take in the concentration.

As such, she was Joachim’s introduction to the profession, teaching him how to report and write hard news as opposed to the literary writing he was used to from his English classes. Her lessons still resonate with him now as a sports reporter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

“Yes, you’re a storyteller. But most important, you’re the first draft of history, and the fourth estate,” Joachim said. “I gained a lot of passion for those elements of the profession that I didn’t have before I took Professor Owens because she set so much store in that.”

Rich Griset, a 2010 mass communications graduate and currently a freelance reporter in Richmond, said Owens impressed upon students that journalism could be a force to make things right in the world. He wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that her brand of journalism was “righteous.”

“She wanted you to realize when you made a mistake and correct it, but she was always on your side,” Griset said. “She wanted you to get it. She wanted you to do well, and she wanted you to understand how important it all was.”

Joachim recalls spending time with Owens, alongside other classmates, in the courtyard outside the school.

“We talked about her career and what it was like to be a woman in her field at a time when it was not all that great,” said Em Holter, a 2019 mass communications graduate who now covers city affairs for the Times-Dispatch. “I mean, it’s hard now, but I can’t imagine. She spent 50 years in the business.”

Before VCU, Owens had a long and accomplished career as a journalist. She was international wire editor for USA Today on Sept. 11, 2001, which students and colleagues remember to be a defining moment in her life and career.

Owens was stuck in traffic 100 yards from the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 hit the west wall. The right wing of the plane flew directly over her car. Shaken but unscathed, Owens paid a tourist $20 for their disposable camera and began taking photos of the burning building.

“Everything that I learned as a journalist and as a Girl Scout came together in that one moment,” Owens said in a segment for VCU InSight. “I needed to survive, but I needed to get the shots.”

Colleagues reflect

Veronica Garabelli, a former Robertson graduate student and current assistant professor of journalism, recalls Owens’ passionate care for her students, colleagues and — importantly — the craft of journalism.

“I remember her lecture on journalism’s ethics and the fierce passion in her delivery,” Garabelli said. “The lecture, which included her pounding on a wooden [lectern] to emphasize points, made me jump out of my skin and drove the point home that if I was going to be a journalist, I better hold sacred our ethics and standards.”

When Garabelli joined VCU’s journalism faculty more than a decade later, Owens welcomed her with open arms, Garabelli said. She remembers her as not just a co-worker but a friend.

“I think she made so many people feel that way, which is why we all cared about her,” Garabelli said. “When I was pregnant and not looking forward to the delivery, she was one of the few people that told me that ‘it was no big deal’ and I could do it.”

Associate professor emeritus Jeff South worked alongside Owens for about 15 years, staying in touch after he retired in 2020. South emphasized Owens’ passion and commitment to teaching students the importance of a free press in a democratic society.

“She was a force of nature — and quite a character,” South said. “She could argue as vociferously about comma placement as she could about media ethics, and she was never shy about sharing her thoughts. Not everyone agreed with Mary Ann’s opinions, but no one doubted her devotion to fostering the next generation of journalists.”

Journalism professor Karen McIntyre, Ph.D., said Owens left an impression on every one of her students – and was a stickler for good writing.

“When a student started a news story with a question, she would write on their paper with a colored pen, ‘WAW.’ It stood for ‘weak-ass writing,’ she told them,” McIntyre said. “I thought she was hard as nails until I learned that she was as caring toward her students as she was tough.”

Associate professor Tim Bajkiewicz, Ph.D., said the remembrances of students Owens taught reflect the depth of her commitment.

“She was one of those rare professors where I heard so many times, students say, ‘Yeah, she was the toughest one that I had, but God, she was awesome,’” Bajkiewicz said. “What legacy does any teacher leave? It’s their students.”

Peyton Rowe, director of the Robertson School, remembers that Owens was especially supportive of other women, having come up in a time when women’s rights had to be fought for.

“When I took on this role as director, she absolutely was in my corner. She wasn’t doing it to look for anything from me in this role. She just really was being a cheerleader for me,” Rowe said. “Which, I think, really speaks to her ability to read people and support women in particular to be successful in their roles.”