Coming Full Circle
A professor in the Texas Tech University College of Media & Communication has recently had the opportunity to give back to a scholarship donor in an unusual way.
Jo Grant, assistant professor of practice and former recipient of the Marshall and Clint Formby Mass Communications Scholarship, taught Public Relations Writing in the fall of 2014 to Lane Formby, grandson of Clint Formby.
Grant said she was awarded the scholarship while she was a journalism major at Texas Tech in 1976, and the scholarship was based on her grade point average and financial need. She said she recognized Lane’s last name during class introductions on the first day of class.
“It is an odd little coincidence,” Grant said. “The Formby Scholarship kept me in school. I taught high school for two years and then spent almost 30 years in the profession. Now, I am back teaching. It is coming full circle, and Clint Formby, among others, helped me stay in school. It is neat that here I am now teaching his grandson.”
Lane (BA Public Relations, 2015) said he has been attending Texas Tech events and football games for most of his life. With a long line of Texas Tech University alumni in his family, Lane said he likes seeing the mark his family has left on the university.
“I am the 38th person from my family on one side to attend Texas Tech,” Lane said. “I will be on campus riding my bike, and I might bike over a brick that has my aunt’s name. That is kind of cool.”
Bill Dean, associate professor of journalism and executive vice president and CEO of the Texas Tech Alumni Association, has gotten to know the Formby family and maintained a relationship with Clint, who was president of the alumni association, a member of the college’s national advisory board, and a regent of Texas Tech University.
“Clint and I maintained a relationship throughout the years,” Dean said. “His son, Chip, also came to Texas Tech, and I got to know him when he pledged the fraternity that I was chapter advisor of at that time. I also got to know Chip’s son, Lane, when the family would come for football games, and I visited with Lane at the funeral and services after Clint passed way.”
Lane said Clint’s uncle, Marshall Formby, originally started the Marshall and Clint Formby Mass Communications Scholarship, which is still awarded to CoMC students today. Lane said Marshall was a large part of Clint’s success, and both Clint and Marshall partnered in a few radio stations, including KPAN, which Clint was a part of until he died in 2010.
“They opened the radio station in Hereford in 1948,” Lane said. “From then, the radio was Clint’s thing. At one point, he had around 12 stations. He was so outgoing and involved. He was on the Associated Press board, the National Association of Broadcasters board, and on the Broadcast Music, Inc. board.”
Dean said he thinks the Formby family is proud of this coincidence and this has shown the family how much recipients appreciate the scholarship donors.
“I think the Formby family is touched by this,” Dean said. “This has come back to remind them of the importance and significance of giving scholarships.”
Grant said she has appreciated the opportunity to give back to her alma mater and to the family of one of her scholarship donors as a professor. She said without the Marshall and Clint Formby Mass Communications Scholarship, she would not have been able to receive the education that has helped her succeed in life.
“I remember sending ‘thank you’ notes for scholarships,” Grant said. “But, now you really do get to see the payoff. Now, I am back at Texas Tech and I am teaching. Because of the skills I learned as an undergrad, I was able to get the jobs that I have and here I am now.” mc
(Preston Redden graduated in 2015 with a Master of Arts degree in Mass Communications and in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. Eli Ramirez is a freshman electronic media and communications major from Donna, Texas.)
