Library accepts books 44 years overdue

Think waiting two weeks to return an overdue library book is too long?
Try 44 years.

William G. Serrin Jr., one of the inductees into the CMU Journalism
Hall of Fame Friday night, decided the event would be the perfect night
to return two books he checked out his senior year, which was 1961.

Serrin was one of five people inducted into the Hall of Fame during
a ceremony at the Comfort Inn Conference Center, 2424 S. Mission St.

J. William Click, Pamela S. Klein, Thomas R. Rood, Alan D. Stuart
and Serrin were the fourth class honored for their achievements in the
journalism field.

Aside from his Hall of Fame plaque, Serrin was given an award from
Dean of Libraries Thomas Moore for finally returning the two books.

Serrin had checked out numerous books from the CMU library his
senior year. The library informed Serrin that the books were overdue
and he had to pay the fines in order to graduate.

He had to auction off his sports coats at his fraternity house in
order to get the $250 to pay for the books.

“As time went by, I realized I still had two books they didn’t know
about and I thought, ‘I won’t return them,’” Serrin said.

He said the two books traveled with him everywhere from Ypsilanti
and Flint to Minnesota.

“I said to my colleague the other day, ‘I’m going to return those
books and clear my conscience.’ He figured out I would owe over
$10,000,” Serrin said.

So he brought the two books, “History of Michigan Trees” and “How to
Play Winning Chess,” with him. Serrin has written for the Saginaw News
and the Detroit Free Press, where he helped win a Pulitzer Prize for
coverage of the 1967 Detroit riots. He reported on the riots – in
particular, the people who died.

He is currently the director of Graduate Studies for the Department
of Journalism at New York University.

In his speech, Stuart stressed the importance of giving back to the
university and teaching others to give back. Stuart worked as a
reporter and photographer at the Daily Times-News of Mount Pleasant and
the Green Bay Press-Gazette early in his career.

He then became involved in public relations.

“I’ve never regretted pursuing PR as a profession,” Stuart said.

Click made many of his contributions to journalism through teaching
and remembers the beginning of his teaching career fondly.

“Small classes, small department and great people, it was a great
way to begin a career,” Click, a journalism professor between 1960 and
1965, said.

Click established programs and chapters of organizations for
journalists throughout the country. He also wrote a journalism textbook
titled “Magazine Editing and Production.”

“I’m deeply moved, honored, and touched by this induction. I’m truly
surprised,” Click said.

The night also honored two inductees posthumously. The first, Pamela
S. Klein, died from complications of cancer because of secondhand smoke
in March.

She wrote for the Ann Arbor News, the Hartford Courant and the
Indianapolis Star before becoming vice president and chief operating
officer of Hetrick Communications.

Klein’s husband Bruce Hetrick accepted the award in her honor.

“I’d like to have seen how embarrassed she’d be by all this
attention and I’d liked to have seen her smile light up when she saw
everyone here,” Hetrick said.

Klein’s family is combining monetary contributions to create the
Pamela S. Klein Memorial Scholarship. It will be given to a junior or
senior journalism major who embodies the same qualities Klein stood
for. The one additional requirement is the recipient must be a
non-smoker.

The other late inductee was Rood, who began teaching at CMU in 1970
and became department chair in 1984. As department chair, Rood brought
the latest newsroom technology to CMU’s classrooms.

“I’m sure Tom would be delighted to see where we are now (with
technology),” Journalism Instructor Ron Marmarelli said.

This year’s ceremony also celebrated the 30th anniversary of the
first Pacemaker award CM Life’s history. The 1974-1975 staff won the
award in the fall of 1975.

Jeff Caponigro, president and CEO of Caponigro Public Relations,
Inc. and CMU trustee, made humor part of his commentary as master of
ceremonies for the evening.

“Western (Michigan University) was going to have their own Hall of
Fame ceremony when they heard about ours, but the Moose Lodge was
booked,” he said. “Which is probably a good thing, since the person
they were planning on inducting is 20 credits short of graduating.”