UT Dallas Mourns Passing of Jon Senderling

UT Dallas Mourns Passing of Jon Senderling,
Retired Head of News and Information Office
Longtime Dallas Newspaper Editor and Corporate PR Executive

RICHARDSON, Texas (June 4, 2007) – The University of Texas at Dallas today mourned the passing of Jon Senderling, a longtime Dallas newspaper editor and corporate public relations executive and the university’s former executive director of news and information.

Senderling, 66, died last evening at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas from complications of a stroke.

“Jon was a gentleman, a valued colleague and a highly professional communicator on behalf of UT Dallas,” said Dr. David E. Daniel, president of the university. “He impressed me with his foresight and thoughtful planning the first time I had occasion to work with him. Our thoughts are with his family.”

Former News and Information chief Jon Senderling

Dr. Franklyn Jenifer, who retired as UT Dallas president in 2005 said, “The University was very fortunate in attracting Jon and for having him in a leadership position for so many years. He was a true professional, dear friend and sage advisor who relished in telling the university’s story to the public. Jon and his outstanding team played an essential role in transforming the university’s reputation as ‘the best kept secret of educational excellence in Texas’ to the highly recognized star of Texas education. He will be truly missed.”

…Senderling embraced the chess program at UT Dallas, which has fielded the nation’s top collegiate chess team multiple times over the past 10 years. A chess player himself, Senderling saw the program as a vehicle for promoting the university, as well as a metaphor for intellectual rigor and academic excellence.

His news releases about the chess team’s exploits in the Pan Am or Final Four tournaments, where national titles are typically won or lost, revealed his knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, the game.

Senderling was known by his colleagues as a talented, witty writer with a deft touch. At times, his sense of humor surfaced in his work for the university, as it did when he and a colleague penned an announcement that began “The University of Texas at Dallas announced today that its name is The University of Texas at Dallas – NOT The University of Texas, the University of Dallas, the University of North Texas in Dallas or even the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.” The tongue-in-cheek news release gently chided members of the local news media who had confused UT Dallas in their reporting with other institutions of higher education.

Besides writing, Senderling had a wide range of interests and talents. His love of baseball was well-known to those around him, but few were aware of the tryout he had with the Philadelphia Phillies organization as a young ballplayer. He was also an avid fan of horse racing and kept in his office at UT Dallas a statue of Secretariat, considered by many to be the greatest thoroughbred racehorse of all time.

Senderling retired from UT Dallas in late 2005.

Jon was the person that’s responsible for the incredible media machine of the UTD Super Chess Team. Every university chess team would be lucky to have a person like Jon. My condolences to his family and the UTD family.