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Three To Join WKU's Hall Of July 09, 2003 Longtime football coach Jimmy Feix, former journalism department head David B. Whitaker and cancer researcher Dr. Dorris Hutchison will comprise the 12th class of noted alumni. They will be inducted during a formal luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 31 at the Sloan Convention Center. For ticket information, contact the WKU Alumni Association at 1-888-WKU-ALUM. "Big Red's Haunted Hill" is the theme for Homecoming 2003 activities, which include a parade, children's activities, reunions and the crowning of Homecoming Queen. WKU, the defending I-AA national champions, will face Southern Illinois at 4 p.m. Nov. 1 at L.T. Smith Stadium. Jimmy Feix As a senior in 1952, Feix guided the Toppers to the school's first OVC football championship with a 9-1 record and the school's first bowl game appearance. Western defeated Arkansas State 34-19 to win the Refrigerator Bowl in Evansville, Ind. That season Feix led the nation's college quarterbacks with a 63.1 percent completion percentage, making good on 111 of 176 passes for 1,581 yards and 15 touchdowns. He ranked fourth in the country in passing and sixth in total offense. He was drafted by the NFL's New York Giants, but an injury in the 1953 preseason forced him to give up football and led to a four-year stint in the Air Force. Feix returned to the Hill as an assistant football coach in 1957 and remained in that capacity until 1968 when he took over the head coaching duties from the retiring Nick Denes. In 16 years as head coach, his teams went 106-56-6, won or shared six OVC championships and were national runners-up in NCAA Division II in 1973 and 1975. Feix, who was named OVC coach of the year in 1973, 1978 and 1980, remains the winningest football coach in WKU history. He retired from coaching after the 1983 season and spent two years in Alumni Affairs before taking over as University's Director of Athletics from 1986 to 1991. Feix is a charter member of the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame and the field at L.T. Smith Stadium was named in his honor in 1991. Feix and his wife, Frankie, live in Bowling Green and have two children, Jimmy and Jeff. David B. Whitaker Whitaker was head of the journalism department from its inception in 1977 until his retirement from the position in 1987 and was director of Student Publications (College Heights Herald and Talisman) from 1970 to 1987. His connection with journalism at Western, however, began in the early 1940s. Whitaker, a Jefferson County native, came to the Hill in 1941 and was majoring in English and economics when World War II interrupted his education. He served as Herald editor in the 1942-43 school year and again in 1947-48 after returning from active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps. (He later served again in the Korean War.) After stints at a hospital and insurance company, Whitaker began his newspaper career as editor of the Daily Kentuckian, a short-lived Bowling Green publication. When that paper folded, he went to work for the Daily News where he served as city editor from 1948-51. In 1953, Whitaker became a sports writer for The Courier-Journal in Louisville and worked in the sports department for 12 years. In 1965, he moved to The Louisville Times as a copy editor and worked for the afternoon paper for five years. Whitaker returned to the Hill in 1970 as associate professor of journalism and director of Student Publications, which publish the nationally honored student newspaper and yearbook. Under his leadership, the number of staff members increased and advertising revenue grew as te publications built upon a tradition created by Frances Richards and others. When the journalism department was created in 1977, Whitaker's vision was a professional program with real-world applications and national accreditation. He recruited faculty with professional experience, promoted internships for students and expanded the curriculum, including a nationally prominent photojournalism program. Whitaker was named outstanding WKU professor in 1978 by Phi Eta Sigma. He was involved with the Kentucky Press Association, the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Council of College Publications Advisers (now College Media Advisers). Whitaker, who received his bachelor's (1948) and master's (1949) from Western, was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame in 1986. Whitaker and his wife, Kay, who died in 82, have three children, Jane, Julie and David. Dorris J. Hutchison A native of Carrsville in Livingston County, Hutchison served as a lab assistant for Dr. L.Y. Lancaster while completing her undergraduate degree at Western. She received her master's degree at the University of Kentucky in 1943 and her doctorate at Rutgers University in 1949. She also has held positions at Russell Sage College in Troy, N.Y., Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass. A microbiologist and educator, Hutchison began her career at the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research in 1951 and held several faculty positions at the Sloan-Kettering Division, Graduate School of Medical Sciences at Cornell, including associate dean from 1978-87. She has been an emeritus professor since 1990. She has written more than 130 publications dealing with chemotherapy, treatment of tuberculosis and leukemia, and other cancer-related topics. She is a member of numerous medical associations. Other awards and honors include the Bronze Medal Award from the American Cancer Society, Westchester Division, in 1984; Philippe Foundation Fellowship in 1959; and Vassar College Faculty Fellowship in 1946. Her accomplishments as a researcher and educator were recognized in the form of the Dr. Dorris J. Hutchison Graduate Fellowship at the Graduate School of Medical Science at Cornell University. Hutchison is single and lives in Bronxville, N.Y.
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