At 67, Raul Ramirez died Friday after battling esophageal cancer. He died days before he was scheduled to receive a Distinguished Service to Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists’ Northern California chapter. Most recently, he was executive director of news and public affairs at KQED Public Radio, the most listened-to station of its kind nationally, where he held other roles since 1991.
An SFSU lecturer since 1983, Ramirez taught courses ranging from basic newswriting to investigative reporting and in the process became one of the most popular and admired instructors in the journalism department. Currently, the SFSU student body is more than 60 percent racial minorities.
