Columbia University professor James W. Carey was remembered Wednesday as a scholar, author and former dean who injected intellectual rigor in the study of communication and journalism, and as a man whose influence was felt beyond the institutions at which he taught.

Carey died in May at his Wakefield, R.I. home from complications of emphysema. He was 71.

He was the CBS Professor of International Journalism at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Carey's acclaimed career did not stop in the classroom. He was president of the Association for Education in Journalism and the American Association of Schools and Departments of Journalism.

“He brought to the community a leadership, an intellectual leadership that few others in the school possess in terms of really understanding how democracy and journalism go hand in hand,” said Arlene Morgan, associate dean of prizes and programs at Columbia.

“He brought that kind of intellectual stature to the school.”

Morgan was among several speakers at “Friends and Colleagues, Scholars and Critics: Remembering James W. Carey,” an appreciation program sponsored by the AEJMC Elected Standing Committees on Professional Freedom and Responsibility, Research and Teaching Standards. Other speakers included friends and colleagues from Stanford University, North Carolina State University, the University of Maryland, Carleton College and St. Michael’s College.

Carey’s gifts as a mentor, his skill in communicating and his appeal as an engaging speaker were recalled by his colleagues:

“He improves me. He improves you. And he improves us,” said Jay Rosen, a professor of journalism at New York University.

“One of the things I learned from Jim was that the things that we think are essential right now were created in the past, by other journalists who were trying to solve a problem or to make the world better in some way,” said Roy Peter Clark, a senior scholar and vice president of The Poynter Institute.

Carey earned his doctoral and master’s degrees from the University of Illinois, where he eventually would become dean of the College of Communications. He was the author of “Television and the Press” (1988), “Communication As Culture” (1989) and “James Carey: A Critical Reader” (1997). He also served as a director on several boards, including the Public Broadcasting System and the Peabody Awards for Broadcasting.

The session concluded with a presentation of the James W. Carey Media Research Award given to Carolyn Kitch, professor at Temple University. The recognition was established in 2004 to honor and continue work on topics central to Carey's scholarship.

“To me, Jim Carey is a top scholar and the father of modern cultural studies involving journalism,” Kitch said. “This award makes me feel that he is telling me that I finally know what I am doing. I always have that sense of wonder. One of things he taught me is that everything is just a process of finding out what you don’t know and learning your way through it, so I feel very, very honored.”

Several members of Carey's family were also present, including his wife, Elizabeth, and his son, Matthew. Matthew was among the program’s speakers.