VALDOSTA — Communications students at Valdosta State University likely don’t know how much they owe to Ren Christie.

Christie — a longtime head of the university’s Department of Communication Arts — passed away Sunday at the age of 84.

During his 21 years at VSU, Christie was responsible for establishing the public relations curriculum and started the university’s chapter of the Public Relations Students Society of America.

Professor Randy Wheeler, head of VSU’s theater program, was hired by Christie in 1980 and credits him with helping build the Communications Arts program into one of the most popular academic majors on campus.

“He had the vision of the true communication arts program, and he was vitally interested in the theater, the media aspect as well as all areas of the speech program, so he very much believed in the amalgamation of the three programs,” Wheeler said. “Through his leadership that program truly got off the launching pad. We’re now one of the largest departments on campus due in large part to his vision and persistence in leading the program.”

Scholarship opportunities for students was another Christie hallmark. He was active in soliciting donations for university scholarships and even started his own: the Wesley Ren Christie Scholarship, which is given to communications arts students with an SAT score above 1100. He and his wife Connie are members of the VSU Foundation’s Order of the Dome.

Christie retired from the university in 1985, but remained very active around campus and in the community at large. He was a member of the Rotary Club and the recipient of the group’s first Four Avenues of Service Award, and was also a staunch supporter of the Boy Scouts of America and the Valdosta Touchdown Club.

Christie came to education as a second career after serving 24 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was a lieutenant colonel, and saw extensive action in the European theater as the commanding officer aboard the USS Quincy. He was present during the Allied invasion at Normandy and escorted President Franklin Roosevelt to his famous meeting with “The Big Three” at Yalta.

Wheeler said Christie brought some of his military stylings to the university.

“Ren was a Marine colonel, and he liked the sort of discipline and organization. He liked to bring that over into the way he ran the department,” Wheeler said. “We used to have our faculty meetings at 0800.

“He was very kind man, a very considerate person. He offered you guidance and direction, but he let you run your own area. He was a staunch defender of his programs to the administration and brought many new and good things into the program.”

Funeral services for Christie will be held at 4 p.m. today at First United Methodist Church. Burial with military honors will follow in McLane Riverview Memorial Gardens.



To contact reporter Bill Roberts, please call 244-3400, ext. 245.