Mr. Arthur C. Wimer

Arthur Wimer was a financial reporter for the Hartford Courant and wrote for The New York Times. During World War Two, he was drafted into the military and served as a war correspondent. After the war, he went to the University of Iowa where he taught and earned his master’s degree. In 1950, he was hired by then-San Diego State College to establish a journalism department. He set to the task but had little financial support. Typewriters that were considered worn out and surplus by the university were offered to him. He fashioned this equipment into a reporting and editing lab in a former gardeners’ quonset hut. But the meager facilities didn’t stop students from coming. Art Wimer’s reputation as an extraordinary teacher, trusted confidant and supportive substitute parent was well known – as were his strict rules of being on time and never misspelling a proper noun. He continued to teach into the 1970s when he retired. Because Art Wimer was held in such high esteem by his students, the Wimer scholarship was established by dozens of his devoted former students who became media professionals locally and nationwide. After Art’s death, his widow Mildred contributed $25,000 to the scholarship. Mildred was Art’s devoted partner in encouraging and supporting students. The Arthur C. and Mildred Wimer Scholarship is given out annually to aspiring journalism students.