A Professor's Final Trek
#WeWalkWithBurd: Students pay tribute to retiring UT professor
KVUE — At 82 years old, Dr. Gene Burd is in better shape than many of his students. Each day, the University of Texas School of Journalism professor walks 2.5 miles from his apartment on Barton Springs Road to campus to teach — then he walks back home again. He's never owned a car. In fact, he never learned how to drive.
In campus buildings, he never takes the elevator. "You meet a better class of people on the stairs," he once told students.
After 42 years, Burd is retiring from the journalism school. On Thursday, he taught his last course. His current and former students decided to pay a fitting tribute to him, joining him on his final trek to campus.
Ever the professor, Burd even brought notes along for the journey, using his vast knowledge of Austin culture and history to educate those walking alongside him.
Even though Burd gets paid less than many of his younger and less experienced colleagues, over the years, he donated more than $1.5 million to projects and foundations across the country.
At UT, Burd taught more than 15 classes on basic news and feature writing, history of journalism, urban communication and more.
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