Joseph Scanlon, Carleton alumnus and journalism professor, was known for his affinity for perfection, his loyalty to the university, and his exceptional journalism skills.
The community remembers Scanlon after his passing at 82 to a heart attack on May 2.
Scanlon, commonly known as Joe, returned to the university in 1965 to serve as a professor at the School of Journalism and Communications.
He was the school’s director for seven years, where his legacy lives on.
Amy Boughner, Scanlon’s daughter, is also a Carleton alumna who will be returning to Carleton in September to pursue a master’s in Political Management.
She made this decision after talking to her father about her career aspirations.
“I mentioned [the program] to him and he said ‘oh, well you should do that.’ I like to think he was very proud of me,” Boughner said.
Boughner said she is not alone in wondering what her father was thinking about her or how he perceived other’s successes.
While at Carleton, Scanlon built a reputation based upon his exacting nature and his tendency never to accept anything less than perfection.
Dave Tait, assistant professor of journalism and a former student of Scanlon’s, echoed these sentiments.
“I met Joe [when] I was a lost, confused, and frightened second-year student and he was the prof for radio,” Tait said.
“That class was very much, ‘I’m . . . teaching you how to do everything exactly the way I’ve told you to do it,’ and he never gave us any reason not to do it that way,” he said.
Tait said Scanlon’s tactics were drill-like. “To someone at my stage [as a student] and probably anybody, he was frightening.”
He added that during his second-year radio class, if a story was found to contain an error, Scanlon would simply circle it, hand it back, and await an improved copy from the student’s typewriter.
Boughner shared a similar experience regarding her first byline. “I was so excited to show him,” she said, and added his first comment was “you should never use ‘unique’ in your lede.”
Scanlon was heavily involved in his career as a journalist. After working for the Charlatan as the sports editor in 1953-54, Scanlon continued on to work for both the Toronto Daily Star and CBC Television.
He also founded Carleton’s Emergency Communication Research Unit, a division of the School of Journalism, which was an act inspired by his experiences during the October Crisis, according to Evan Annett, the author of the Charlatan’s history, You Charlatans.
Tait said he worked with Scanlon on this project, which enabled him to see another, more encouraging side of Scanlon—one that his students rarely got to see.
His obituary, published in the Ottawa Citizen, said Scanlon was very proud of his family and often shared [their] accomplishments with his friends and colleagues.” Two of Scanlon’s children, David and Leslie, both attended the School of Journalism while Scanlon was a professor.
Meaghan, Scanlon’s daughter, also has a bachelor’s and masters degree from Carleton, and his daughter Lucy attended Carleton as well. He has five children in total, Boughner being the youngest.
According to Tait, Scanlon always stayed true to his Carleton roots, which inspired several of his students to follow in his footsteps.
“He made being at Carleton a very formative experience,” Tait said. “I think that helped make me see coming back to be something that was very valuable experience for me and a worthwhile undertaking.”
Scanlon passed away in Kingston, Ontario, while attending the Carleton Spring Conference.
A Professor Joe Scanlon Memorial Fund has been established at Carleton, according to the obituary.
