Former journalism school director dies at 65

Steven H. Chaffee, professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication for 16 years, died May 15 after a short hospitalization for a heart ailment.

Chaffee, an internationally recognized authority on mass communication and its effects on society, lived in Santa Barbara, Calif. Most recently, he was a professor of communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Previously, at Stanford University, where he taught from 1981-99, he was the Janet M. Peck Professor of International Communication and for seven years served as chair of the Department of Communication.
Before that, Chaffee was director of the School of Journalism at UW–Madison in 1980-81.

He was among the most influential scholars in his field, and widely considered to be one of the most important historians and methodologists in the discipline of communication.

A memorial service will be held today, May 18, in Santa Barbara. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the Yosemite Association, P.O. Box 230, El Portal, Calif. 95318.