Richard “Dick” Schwarzlose, the Medill School of Journalism’s longest-tenured faculty member and a heralded teacher called a “rock of integrity” by some colleagues, died June 14 at age 66.

Schwarzlose died following an apparent heart attack while biking, one of his favorite activities, on Green Bay Trail in Evanston.

The professor joined Northwestern’s faculty in 1968 and was awarded the Charles Deering McCormick Professorship of Teaching Excellence in 2002. A specialist in the field of media ethics, Schwarzlose most recently taught history and issues of journalism, a required class for all Medill students.

Journalism Prof. Abe Peck, who worked with Schwarzlose for about 21 years, said Schwarzlose’s teaching method inspired students to question journalism and to remain aware of ethical considerations.

“He could make (students) realize it was about more than dotting the ‘i’s and crossing the ‘t’s,” Peck said. “He personified ethics.”

Peck also said teaching was such an important part of Schwarzlose’s life that his family returned to the school on the Monday following his death term papers in hand so his students’ grades would be completed on time.

Medill Assistant Dean Roger Boye echoed Peck’s words and praised Schwarzlose’s effect on students, pointing to the professor’s consistently high CTEC ratings.

“He was particularly good at fostering students, getting them to talk and learn as much from each other as from him,” said Boye, who took a class from Schwarzlose in 1970.

And to some students, Schwarzlose was more a friend than a professor.

“There are a lot of teachers that are in Medill who are just associates, have very minimal conversation,” said Garrett Baldwin, a Medill senior. “Dick’s worth to us was as a friend. He was always there for his students and would always offer a minute or two just to hear you rant.”

Baldwin, who said he considered Schwarzlose a mentor, had plans to go biking with the professor along Green Bay Trail in Evanston during Fall Quarter. As a tribute to Schwarzlose, Baldwin said he will still make the trip.

“Even though we had never gone before,” Baldwin said, “and even through he’s not going to be there, he’ll be with me.”

Mark Brandau, a Medill junior, remembered Schwarzlose as heroic but humble, connecting with students on an intense, personal level.

“Let’s face it, he was an institution,” Brandau said. “But my favorite moment in class was the day that he started singing to us about different kinds of presses, which led into this really old Irving Berlin song called ‘Your Easter Bonnet’ and I had sung that song before in high school, so I started singing along with him. The look on his face was pretty priceless.

“After class, he pulled me aside and said he’d been teaching that class for over 30 years and … I was the first person that ever sang along with him. To stand out in his mind as something unique, even for something as insignificant as just singing along with him, that’s enough for me to really consider myself lucky.”

Schwarzlose was born in Chicago and graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and a doctorate in communication. Before becoming a professor, he reported at The News-Gazette in Champaign.

He also penned the two-volume set, “The Nation’s Newsbrokers and Newspapers: A Reference Guide.”

Schwarzlose’s wife of 40 years, Sally, said his life was enriched by his students and colleagues, and that the family took solace in the overwhelming community response.

“I can’t expand anything beyond the Medill Web site with student and faculty expressions — logging on and sharing, all the ongoing conversations have been wonderful for us,” she said. “He believed in what he was doing and he believed journalism was a serious profession, that the process required a lot of thought and effort, and diligence.”

Schwarzlose is survived by his wife, Sally; son Daniel, Weinberg ’95; and daughter Rebecca, Weinberg ’02.

A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28, in Alice Millar Chapel.

The family requests any donations be made to Medill, which has started a fund to permanently memorialize Prof. Schwarzlose.