To the editor:
Al Salvato was one of the most interesting people that I've ever met. I am a recent graduate of the University of Cincinnati and was the epitome of a non-traditional student: over 50 years of age, working 50-60 hours a week in addition to attending classes full time and based on that, always in a hurry.
Al, as he wanted all of us to call him, got me to slow down for 20 weeks and to appreciate the art involved with a well-written news story.
I had the pleasure of taking two classes from Al as I was closing in on earning my degree. The fun part about taking a class from Al was that he was as interested in you as a person, as he was teaching you proper news writing technique. He could edit your paper, slice it to shreds and have more red ink on it than you had black.
He would then use all his expertise combined with that soft-spoken demeanor to help you correct the paper. By the time you were finished you'd think you had completed a Pulitzer Prize winning piece.
The university needs more professors with the passion and compassion that Al Salvato had. I will continue to look back on those 20 Monday nights and smile. I hope this article makes him proud.
Rick Alley
Director, Customer Service &
Logistics
Aristech Acrylics LLC,
business management, 2005
To the editor:
The University of Cincinnati journalism program lost its heart and soul when Al Salvato died Monday evening.
Al was an academic advisor, a career counselor and a shoulder to lean (or cry) on whenever we needed it. He also told great stories.
He was instrumental in me getting my first internship, my second internship and my first off-campus job as a journalist. He did not hand students anything, but if they were willing to work hard and make a commitment to be successful, he would do everything he could to help them achieve that success.
Students usually look back on their college career and see one person without whom they never would have made it through, for me that person was Al Salvato.
Perhaps the greatest measure of Al's success as an educator is the accomplishments of his students. There are graduates of UC working at newspapers all across the country, a remarkable accomplishment for a school that did not offer a degree in journalism until this year.
Al was an outstanding journalist and a wonderful teacher, but most of all, he was the finest man I have ever met. He was always about something that was good and pure and decent. I will miss my mentor and my friend.
Mark Hansel
The Las Vegas Sun
Staff Reporter
Interdisciplinary studies,
journalism focus, 2005
To the editor:
In the fall of 2001, I walked into The New Record office, an open-eyed sophomore majoring in finance but interested in sports journalism. Considering I despised English classes in high school, writing didn't appear to be my calling. This is when I met Al Salvato. We talked for 30 minutes in his office, and it was easy to see the passion and excitement that he felt for not only journalism, but for aiding college students who shared the same passion.
Over the course of four years I turned to Salvato for advice on story ideas, design layouts and tips with my writing. But more than anything, we would just talk. I would plop myself in his office, usually interrupting something more important than my thoughts, and we discussed world issues, local sports, colleagues of mine who were doing a good job or anything that came to mind.
This is how Salvato treated every student of his and every member of The News Record. He would bend over backwards for anyone who wanted a piece of the journalism world. Someone else will take over his place in that world, but his place in the lives of so many University of Cincinnati students will remain.
Zach Van Hart,
The Beaufort Gazette
(Beaufort, S.C.)
Sports Writer,
marketing, 2005
To the editor:
As adviser of The News Record during my time there, Al Salvato was an encourager to myself and many others. He would sit in his office - then located in a tent on top of Zimmer Auditorium - and hold court as aspiring journalists came in and sought his input on their work. He balanced perfectly his role as advisor. He would encourage. He would mark up the paper once a week with red ink and pin it to the bulletin board. But he never told you what to do. He allowed the page editors to work unfettered, stepping in only at their request. And any News Record staffer who asked him to do so was better for it.
He got me my first internship in daily journalism at The Cincinnati Post. After graduating and working for several months as a staff writer at City Beat, Al helped me again - though he was under no obligation to do so - get a full time reporting job at the Post.
I owe nearly all of my career so far to his help. I am sure I don't speak for myself when I say he'll be sorely missed.
Tony Cook
The Cincinnati Post
Staff Reporter,
English, 2003
To the editor:
When I think about the death of Al Salvato, words fail me. It is impossible to believe that a man who was always so full of life and excitement could be dead, and at such a young age. The more I think about how many lives he touched, the more I realize what a truly great man he was.
Students could trust Al. No matter what he did or said, he had our best interests at heart. It seemed that he lived to help us in any way he could. I know that I am only one of many people he helped start a career in journalism. His help and advice have been invaluable to me.
He also cared so much about our lives. When I think about Al, I always remember how much fun I had sitting in his office and talking to him. Even though I always visited his office with the intent of asking him a question about journalism, by the time I left, we had covered all kinds of topics, ranging from our love of music to his memories of past students.
Even though Al is gone, I feel better knowing that thousands of students, as well as his family, friends and co-workers, will honor his memory and look back on his life with fondness. If a person is measured by their legacy, Al Salvato was one of the great men of our time.
Julie C. Vossler
The Monitor (McAllen, Texas)
Copy Editor,
English, 2005
To the editor:
A few years ago, Al Salvato walked into the Famous Old Time Music Company in Elmwood Place. I was fresh out of high school; a musician and store clerk with only distant ambitions toward college. To me, Al was just a smiley guy who wanted me to teach him the banjo. Weeks went by, and I quickly started looking forward to his visits. He loved to learn; he was my best student. Yet, I did not understand the true giant that was in my midst.
Without even realizing, I began to learn from my own student. He actually taught me about music, though not in the form of notes. Al helped me to rediscover the heart, enthusiasm and spirit behind music. Every step of the way, Al has been and always will be one of the most important individuals in my life.
Undoubtedly, I will remember Al for the many things he accomplished and the amazing example he set for others, though he never thought so himself. I also remember him as a talented musician. In fact, on the day of our very last lesson, he finished his biggest assignment to date: he wrote a melody. It was plain and simple, but had a genuine and innocent quality that most modern musicians often forget. I had never been so proud in my life. Al played the banjo with the same tenacity, heart and genuine feeling that he lived his life.
I put his picture in my instrument case. Now, every time I open it, Al will remind me that life is too short to do anything without heart.
Graham Hentschel
Banjo instructor,
history, 2007
To the editor:
It's easy to be a cynic - to question a person's motives, to look for faults in a situation or to complain about life's relatively trivial difficulties. Al Salvato, however, was not a cynic. He saw the beauty around him and shared it with others.
He'd be impressed by a sentence you wrote. He'd pat you on the back. He'd ask if you had a few minutes to listen to a story about a student you reminded him of.
Al did these things because he genuinely cared about people. He could have spent less time at school - he was also busy taking care of his family, writing for numerous publications, running marathons, officiating track meets and staying involved with charities.
Yet he was always there for his students.
It comes back to not being a cynic, perhaps. One can criticize ideas, chastise individuals and complain about the shortcomings that certainly exist in this world. It's easy to be mean, and easier still to do nothing at all.
But Al Salvato wasn't like that. And his example encouraged others to try to be like him; to appreciate those around us, and to realize how fortunate we are for having known them.
Thanks, Al.
Brian Phillips
Cincinnati.com, The Enquirer
Online copy editor,
political science, 2005
From an editor:
Wide eyed, nervous and timid, I walked into The News Record office on a mild day in late September 2003 with the intention of learning how to write a news article.
At that time, The News Record office was located in a giant, temporary bubble-like structure because of campus construction. It was a very impersonal, bleak, bizarre place to be in, but the warmth and smile of Al Salvato made it bearable.
In that bubble, he taught me how to write, interview and critically think. Most importantly, Al quickly taught me how to treat people like people and not as interview subjects or pieces of an article.
That was his strength, the ability to have empathy while still maintaining strict journalist ethics.
Most importantly to me was when my father passed away in the middle of last November. Al, ever-so a compassionate human being, hunted down my grandmother's unlisted phone number and called to give her his condolences. This meant a lot to my family.
She still talks about it even to this day.
In addition, Al prevented me from quitting at a time when I felt like dropping out of UC. Without Al's encouragement, logic and heart, I do not know where I would be right now.
Outside of my friends, co-workers at The News Record, a professor and advisor, Al has been the only constant force of support for me at the university during my time of grief.
My family and I are indebted to him for his advice and eternal wisdom.
Al, you will be sorely missed.
Yasin Southall
The News Record
Opinion editor,
history, 2008
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