By Julie Sobczyk
Alumni news Staff
After 12 years of finding jobs for almost everybody, Alfred Pagal Jr. has decided to give up his own.
“I plan to step down as chairman in may and teach one more year after that,” Pagal says.
Pagal, who came to UNL in 1982 as a Gannett professional lecturer, says he is retiring because he wants time to enjoy an active life.
“I’m 66 now. I’ll be 68 when I retire. I want to still have time to play golf, I don’t want to step out of here in my coffin.”
Pagal has other interests he wants to pursue, including working in his garden, traveling and writing a book.
At the college of journalism and mass communications, Pagal, now an associate journalism professor, almost single-handedly revised the news-editorial department’s internship and placement program. That was his great accomplishment at the college, he says.
“Gannett, the largest newspaper organization in the nation, at one time came here every year. By the time I took over, they hadn’t been here for a number of years. So I phoned, and they said the last time they were there they only had six kids sign up, and two didn’t show.”
Gannett told him the students who did interview for internships were dressed in shorts and t-shirts, Pagal says. The students did not prepare clips or resumes. Pagal promised Gannett that would never happen again.
It hasn’t.
“We told the kids to be on time, dress appropriately, have your packets ready and be prepared to interview. If they violated the rules, tough. They didn’t interview.”
Will Norton Jr., journalism college dean, says the internship and placement program is successful because of Pagal’s hard work.
“When he came her, the program was down,” Norton says. “Last summer, there were 52 internships”
This year, the following have interviewed students for full-time or intern jobs; Omaha World-Herald; the Lincoln Star; Chicago Tribune; Louisville, Ky., Courier Journal; Little Rock, Ark., Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; The Des Moines Register; Lee Enterprises; the Los Angeles Times; Gannett; and other Nebraska newspapers.
Pagal also is “the reason the department is so strong right now.” Norton says. “It ‘s as strong as it’s ever been. He opened up the Chicago Tribune. Because of Bud Pagal, this is one of the few places the Chicago Tribune goes.”
Richard Streckfuss, professor of journalism, agrees.
“The internships program is all his doing. It was turned around by him, by his willingness to work hard and call on people in the field.”
Pagal says after he reorganized the internship program 10 years ago, he made a promise to journalism students about their careers.
“If you should be hard-working enough to get through the program, we will promise you a job with one stipulation: if you go where the jobs are. For the past 10 years, we have had full employment. Nobody else can make that brag.”
Pagal’s colleagues recognize his strengths as a teacher, including his close relationship with students, Norton says.
“He’s a very competent professor who has worked in this business for a long time. He really works hard at teaching well and having good interactions with students. I’m not sure students appreciate him while they are in advanced reporting, but after awhile, I’m sure they do appreciate him.”
One of Pagals strengths is his humor, Streckfuss says.
“He likes to play jokes and take jokes. You can play good jokes on him. In time, I loaded one of his cigarettes – and it blew up.”
Pagal’s ability to enjoy students is another strength, Streckfuss says.
“He’s friendly, outgoing and easily accessible. Pagal is very popular with students.”
Working closely with Pagal has allowed Streckfuss to see his weaknesses, too.
It’s like the ant and the grasshopper fable, Streckfuss says. “He puts things off terribly. He’s always amazed at the end of the week when he ahs all this work to do. He never gets quite as mush done as he plans.”
Pagal also has a tendency to say little things that drive Streckfuss crazy, Pagal’s colleague says.
“We’re in this routine of getting our paychecks together. Every month we go and he says, “You put that $1,000 bond away each month and it eats into your check.” I drives me crazy. He doesn’t have a $1,000 bond. I have to listen to that 12 times a year.”
Maybe once a year, Pagal gets angry with his dean because Norton is inn charge of a bureaucracy,” Norton says. “ He doesn’t like paperwork. He likes dealing with people and teaching class.”
Pagal’s close relationship with students is his greatest satisfaction from teaching, pagal says, because he gets to know tem as people.
He often passes along one word that will make them successful.
“Sweat.
“Show me a lazy reporter, editor or teacher, and I’ll show you one who’s not doing much of a job, regardless of skills.”
Curiosity is also important, Pagal says.
“If you don’t want to know why or how, then it’s the wrong business for you. I brought two things with me when I went into journalism: I had a good curiosity, and I could tell a good story dirty story.
“You need to have a desire to communicate accurately. Always sacrifice the beauty for the understanding.”
He gets two kicks out of teaching.
“One kick I get is seeing how well our students do when they get out inn the professional worked. I get satisfaction in knowing I had some part in that.”
The second kick is seeing how students progress in their work.
“I was always amazed by students I’d have in 282 (beginning reporting) who could hardly put sentences together. By the time they took depth reporting, they were writing such good stories I started to doubt if I could write better.”
He also gets excited about the students’ values and qualities.
“The students are bright. I think we have the brightest students on campus. I know we have the hardest working.”
The news-editorial department can’t be totally responsible for the strength of its students, Pagal says. The students’ personal qualities, such as being honest and hardworking, are part of the reason, too.
“Some qualities we can’t take all the credit for. The students have marvelous values. They’re willing to learn, and they don’t think they know everything. We send them out with good skills.
The hardest part of leaving the college will be leaving those skilled students, he says.
“The only thing in my mind that amounts to anything is the student relationships. I won’t have that when I leave.”
He will have outside interests, such as reading and traveling, and time “to do all the other things I’ve not been able to do. I’ve worked for half a century, at one thing or another. “I’ll be able to golf every day.
“I might miss some of my alleged colleagues – but I’ll definitely miss my students.”