The 1960s were filled with events of radical movements, civil liberties and innovative thinking, and Texas A&M was no different. It was during this time that C.J. "Skip" Leabo came to A&M and radically altered the journalism program.
On Saturday, Leabo died of a stroke at the age of 81. Leabo was the head of the Department of Journalism at Texas A&M from 1967 to 1975, and continued as a professor until his 1987 retirement.
Leabo was born in Excelsior Springs, Mo., and enlisted in 1926 in the U.S. Navy. After service, he studied at the University of California, Berkeley for two years.
Leabo's passion for journalism began in the late 1940s, when he became an editor for the Santa Rosa (Calif.) Press Democrat and continued into the 1950s, when he worked for The Associated Press as an overseas cable editor.
After marring Kathleen Kildow in 1955, the couple had one son, Peter Leabo, and two daughters, Andrea Martinez and Kristin Light.
In the years following, Leabo worked for The AP in Sacramento, The AP in New York, the National Scholastic Press Association and the Associated Collegiate Press at the University of Minnesota, where he completed his bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism.
In 1967, A&M President Earl Rudder brought Leabo to the University to restructure the journalism program.
Bob Rogers, a longtime friend of Leabo and another former journalism department head, praised Leabo's achievements at Texas A&M.
"He really created the journalism department," Rogers said. "It was barely existing and he brought it up to national accreditation standards. He oversaw its great growth."
Howard Eilers, who teaches photography in the architecture college, was hired by Leabo in 1969.
"He's probably the best boss I ever had," Eilers said. "Being a photographer, we saw eye to eye, we could communicate with each other."
Eilers and Leabo shared a bond beyond their jobs at A&M.
"We both loved to cook, we were bread bakers, so we would end up bringing things we baked to the office and trading recipies," he said.
Peter Leabo, Skip's son and a former A&M student, said his father had a unique approach at teaching and his students' often had negative reactions to his insistence on detail.
"He broke almost every rule there was in his methods of teaching," he said. "He arrived on the scene of an ultra conservative university with tennis shoes on."
"He was very strict to make sure his students did things right," Rogers said. "Although his students complained, they later realized they'd learned so much from him. He always had the students' welfare in mind."
Peter Leabo said his father's teaching style developed from real world experience. This view was new for A&M's journalism program.
"He was one of the toughest teachers, but he prepared his students for the real world," he said. "His passion was absolutely infectious."
Peter Leabo said his father was always a teacher and always an editor. Leabo would even return edited Christmas cards to his family.
"His passion for good journalism had no bounds," he said.
After retiring from A&M, Leabo and his wife sold their self-built home and spent the next 10 years sailing between the Caribbean and their Texas home. After this, the two poured their lives into restoring a World War II ammunition bunker for their retirement home.
"He was a great colleague and a good friend," Rogers said. "He will be missed."
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