(Provided by the University of Montana)
William Marcus, longtime director of the University of Montana’s Broadcast Media Center, will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters, UM announced Friday in a news release.
The news release said as a UM student, Marcus launched his life’s work with a part-time job at the KUFM campus radio station, and after graduating with a journalism/radio-TV undergraduate degree in 1974, he spent his entire professional career at UM from 1975 to 2015.
Marcus served many roles at Montana Public Radio, from production assistant, news director, development director and production director to station manager and Broadcast Media Center director, the news release said. His audio stories, generally about Montana musicians and artists, were broadcast nationally on “NPR Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered” and “Weekend Edition.”
“In a stack of glowing nomination letters, Marcus was described as ‘a Montana treasure,’ ‘legendary,’ ‘one of UM’s most impressive alums’ and ‘a fierce advocate for public media, the humanities, the arts, the state of Montana and the University of Montana,’” the news release said.
It said UM will confer the degree during its fall commencement Friday, Dec. 13, with Marcus serving as commencement speaker.
In a statement, Marcus said the degree was an honor.
“My grandfather was a Dr. Marcus – dentist – and my brother was a Dr. Marcus – optometrist – but I never thought this honorific would ever be attached to my name,” he said in a statement from UM. “I’m deeply honored to receive UM’s highest recognition. I’ve had a long, rewarding relationship with my university, and this honor is unexpected and deeply appreciated.”
UM said Marcus worked with Jack Hyyppa of Montana State University to establish and grow Montana PBS television into a statewide entity, cementing a strong partnership between UM and MSU.
He also served as the on-air host of “Backroads of Montana,” a travelogue Montana PBS television show that covers stories of interesting people, places and events across Big Sky Country, UM said. Marcus hosted 50 episodes of the award-winning program from 1991 to 2021, and they are still in rotation.
“Wherever he goes, he is recognized and thanked for his work on the program,” said Ray Ekness, the former BMC director who took over after Marcus retired, in a statement.
Dozens of award-winning television productions highlighting the stories of Montana were created under Marcus’ leadership, UM said. These include “Charlie Russell’s Old West,” “Glacier Park’s Night of the Grizzlies,” “The Bicycle Corps: America’s Black Army on Wheels,” “Evelyn Cameron: Pictures from a Worthy Life,” “Playing for the World: The 1904 Fort Shaw Indian Girls Basketball Team” and many more.
Marcus received the Montana Governor’s Humanities Award in 2007 and the Cultural Achievement Award from the Missoula Cultural Council in 2015. UM presented him with both the J.B. Speer Award for Distinguished Service and the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2015.
During his tenure at UM, Marcus oversaw numerous Montana political candidate debates, election coverage and election analysis programs, UM said. He still works on air for MTPR’s “Morning Classics” program and assists during fundraising pledge weeks.