Pioneering broadcast journalist and schoolteacher Nancy Dickerson

Because of their experience as leaders in the classroom, educators are ideally suited to professions that require grace on a stage. One former teacher who exemplified this grace is Nancy Dickerson, a pioneering broadcast journalist, who was once an elementary school teacher in Wisconsin.

Nancy was born on January 19, 1927, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. After her high school graduation, she first attended Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa, and then transferred to University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education in 1948.

After earning her college degree, Nancy accepted a position as an elementary school teacher in Milwaukee. In 1951, she moved to Washington, DC. But Nancy dreamed of a career as a broadcast journalist, specifically as a reporter of political news. To achieve this goal, she completed courses in speech and drama at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

The former teacher worked diligently, and was able to realize her goal. In 1960, Nancy was selected to be the first woman reporter to cover the Presidential elections for CBS News. During her time at CBS, she covered the presidential campaigns of Hubert Humphrey and Lyndon Johnson, the assassination and funeral of President Kennedy, and key events of the Civil Rights Movement, including the 1963 March on Washington. In 1971, Nancy took a major step forward when she launched her career as an independent broadcaster and producer. From 1971 to 1974, she was the first woman to have a daily news program on network television, Inside Washington. In 1980, Nancy founded the Television Corporation of America, where she produced quality documentaries for the Public Broadcasting System.

For her outstanding work as a journalist, Nancy earned many awards. She earned a Peabody Award and the Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association, and received honorary degrees from American International College and Pine Manor College.

Sadly, in 1996, at the age of 69, Nancy suffered a stroke. She passed away the next year in New York City on October 18, 1997. She was interred at Arlington National Cemetery next to her husband, John C. Whitehead, a Navy veteran.

To read more about this pioneering chalkboard champion, see her obituary at the The Washington Post.