Former St. Thomas journalism professor Karen Boros died of cancer at age 82 on Sept. 10. Boros gave 19 years of service to the St. Thomas community and was a pioneering force in developing the school’s broadcast journalism program.
Boros studied marketing at the University of Illinois and went on to pursue a decades-spanning career in broadcast journalism. Her career took her to news stations and publications across the Midwest with positions at WCCO-TV, Minnesota Public Radio, CBS News, Chicago Daily News and various other suburban newspapers in the Twin Cities, according to Boros’ colleague, former St. Thomas assistant professor David Nimmer.
“She was particularly adept at teaching reporting,” Nimmer said. “She liked the idea of television reporters who had some knowledge of city hall and municipal government and could actually go out and find the damn story themselves.”
Nimmer says that Boros had a particular passion for covering local government and would often send students to cover city council meetings to gain the type of on-the-job experience she valued so highly.
St. Thomas alumnus and Northern News Now evening anchor Laura Lee initially described Boros as a “tough cookie” during her first days as a student in Boros’ class. She became a trusted mentor whom Lee felt lucky to count as a close friend after graduating.
“The way she approached reporting … was the same way she taught,” Lee said. “She was fiery; she was bold; she was brave, and … that passion for news carried through in her teaching, and it inspired me because I wanted to be bold and brave and fiery; I wanted to make sure that I was taken seriously.”
Lee remembers the way that her old professor would light up with excitement the second she heard a great, emotional soundbite. Now, as a mentor to younger reporters, Lee finds herself reacting in the same way, a habit she attributes to Boros.
“She empowered me in that way as a teacher and as a mentor and as a friend,” Lee said. “(There were) things that I was timid about, and she was like, ‘No, you go after it; you do it. That’s your job.’ She just really empowered me to believe that I could.”
The advice and expertise Boros extended were often inseparable from the forceful personality that offered them. With her passion for gardening and hiking, pet bulldogs and a strong sense of humor, Nimmer says she will be remembered first and foremost as a “damn interesting human being,” and someone who impacted the lives of countless students and colleagues, like Nimmer himself, throughout her career.
“She cared so much about the craft that she dedicated her whole life and career to it, and St. Thomas is so lucky to have had her,” Lee said. “All of the students that she has come across to teach and touch and impact … we’re all in newsrooms across the country, I’m sure, but just as people, we’re better … by knowing her.”
Funeral services will be held on Thursday, Sept. 21 at Lakewood Cemetery Chapel in Minneapolis.
Kevin Lynch can be reached lync1832@stthomas.edu.