David Sachsman, the George R. West, Jr. Chair of Excellence in Communication and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, died on October 4, 2022. He was 77.

Beginning in 1993, Sachsman organized the annual Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression. The Chattanoogan’s obituary discussed Sachsman’s legacy and role in shaping the annual event: “Dr. Sachsman was particularly proud of how the symposium fostered new scholars, with many first attending as graduate students and then continuing to participate in the conference as their career progressed. Since 2000, work from the symposium has been published in eight books edited by Dr. Sachsman, as well as dozens of other publications created by symposium attendees.”

In his lifetime he wrote 23 books and several articles about journalism history, environmental communication, journalism, and mass communication. He was on his 24th book at the time of his passing. 

Prior to joining the faculty at UTC, Sachsman served as the founding dean of the School of Communications at California State University, Fullerton from 1988 to 1991.