I was one of the fortune students who had a chance to take Professor Tifft’s, “News as a Moral Battleground.” On its own it was a superb course, but we were particularly fortunate that year. The class covers journalistic dilemmas, using current events as material for discussion. We took the course during the 2008 Presidential Election. While that election is meaningful for many young people, that election is particularly special for me because of Professor Tifft. She brought journalism to life. She had a great sense of humor as well. Though she never openly bragged, she was quite the name-dropper. Over the course of one semester, she managed to let us know about evening dinners with Colin Powell, lunches with Representative John Lewis, and afternoon yoga with the Gergens (yes, David Gergen). Afterall, Professor Tifft was a celebrity, and the fact that she took the time to fly down to Durham every Monday just to spend two and a half hours with us illustrated her devotion to education and her students. She was also a life-long Blue Devil, and I cannot think of an alumna who made this University prouder.
My condolences go out to her husband and her family during this time. It truly was a great loss for all of us in the Duke Community. She was a wonderful person.
Vivek Upadhyay
Trinity ’10
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