Tennessean Names Conference Room in Honor of Late Reporter and TSU Professor

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) - The Tennessean newspaper has named a conference room in honor of the late award-winning business reporter and TSU adjunct professor Getahn Ward, who died in 2016. He was 45.

The Meter staffers visit the Getahn Ward Conference Room in The Tennessean new office building. Pictured are, from left, staff writer Brianna Sparrow, Editor-in-Chief KaBria Kirkham, and staff writer Nyah Peebles. (Courtesy photo)

The Getahn Ward Conference Room, in the newspaper’s new office building, includes a table with four chairs, a cabinet displaying awards Ward won while he worked there, as well as a white board for writing ideas. The multimedia room in the TSU Department of Communications is also named in honor of the fallen professor.

An active member of the Nashville chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, where he chaired the scholarship committee, Ward was an adjunct in the Communications Department at TSU, teaching an introductory course in journalism for many years.

Former students and staffers of The Meter, the TSU student newspaper, which Ward headed as editor-in-chief while a student at TSU, visited the Getahn Ward Conference Room recently. The experience, one said, “was very moving.”

Three visiting Meter staffers sit in on the morning editorial staff meeting at The Tennessean. (Courtesy Photo)

“Although I did not know him personally, but as soon as I saw his picture I felt an immediate connection …seeing his accomplishments and the remarkable person he was,” said KaBria Kirkham, editor-in-chief of The Meter, who came to TSU the year after Ward’s death.

She said as an aspiring journalist, she was inspired by Ward’s dedication to excellence and how he went about his work.

“I was just amazed to see something so important dedicated to him in recognition of his work and contribution to his community and individuals he came across,” Kirkham added.

During visit to the Getahn Ward Conference Room, The Meter staffers had an opportunity to interact with their counterparts at The Tennessean. (Courtesy Photo)

Meter staff writers Brianna Sparrow and Nyah Peebles accompanied Kirkham during the visit to The Tennessean. The group also toured the newspaper’s elaborate facility at its new 1801 West End Avenue location, and sat in on the paper’s morning editorial meeting, where the plan for the day’s coverage is discussed.

Following Ward’s death, TSU, The Tennessean, the Gannett Foundation and NABJ partnered to create a scholarship in Ward’s name to benefit aspiring journalists. The new scholarship is the first endowed scholarship in the history of the TSU Department of Communications.

“At a time when our majors are working multiple jobs to offset the cost of a college education, this (scholarship) will go a long way in helping some of our best and brightest students,” Dr. Tameka Winston, chair of the TSU Department of Communications, said during the launching of the scholarship.  “This scholarship represents a man who devoted much of his life to the field of journalism and to the education and success of students at Tennessee State University.”

Ward, who previously worked at the Nashville Banner before it closed in 1997, had a passion for teaching students and advocating for black journalists. He earned two degrees at TSU, where he was a proud alum.

To contribute to the Getahn Ward Endowed Scholarship Fund, visit https://bit.ly/35kPUjK