TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - The University of Arizona School of Journalism’s only two-time director has died.
The Arizona Daily Star reports that George W. Ridge Jr. died peacefully Wednesday at Northwest Hospital in Tucson, surrounded by family.
He was 86.
Ridge underwent heart surgery in March but later suffered pneumonia.
The Alexandria, Louisiana, native was a reporter at The Arizona Republic, city editor at the Arizona Daily Star and an assistant attorney general for the state before beginning his career as a University of Arizona journalism professor in 1968.
Ridge was head of the journalism department from 1972 to 1978 and again from 1985 to 1991.
Ridge retired from the University of Arizona School of Journalism in 1994.
Ridge was inducted into the Arizona Interscholastic Press Association Hall of Fame in 2003.
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Information from: Arizona Daily Star, http://www.tucson.com
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