Michael Koretzky: Changing Times, Changing Lives and Changing the Way Students Think Michael Koretzky: I want to be like him when I grow up. I may be older than him physically, but mentally and intellectually Koretzky will always be my role model, my mentor and the person that I will forever aspire to be.

I went back to school at 44 years of age, my only goal being to be the first person in my family to get a college degree. I had gone to Yale as a teenager, but life choices distracted me and I never finished. When I enrolled at FAU in 2004, I took a potpourri of classes, trying to feel the pulse of a potential career. Photography, screenwriting, acting. And then I took one of the few "journalism" classes FAU offered and the professor suggested that I contact Michael Koretzky at the University Press.

So I did. I walked into an open house meeting and I never left. I had no idea what I was doing there, but after listening to Koretzky for only a few minutes, I was hooked. I kept going back to staff meetings and eventually began writing. I wrote my first cover story about the burrowing owls being displaced – and it was a disaster.

There was a punctuation error in the headline which resulted in the staff having to stuff thousands of issues with retraction letters and they forgot to print my name in the byline. I was ready to quit, but Koretzky talked me down. He promised me that in a year from then, I would look back on this story and realize it was terrible and would laugh about it.

We are still laughing about it to this day. I even have it framed in my office as a reminder of where I started and that thanks to Koretzky, I have come a long way.

In the years at the UP, I learned more form Koretzky than I ever did from any teacher I ever had. I learned more from him than any boss, colleague or professional journalist. He transcends the term "advisor." He is a life changer.

Though he will never accept the credit, I am now a nationally published journalist, making a very good living as a freelancer for the New York Daily News, People Magazine and Agence France Presse. And more importantly, I have the honor to be Michael Koretzky's friend. He has been there for me, and many of his students, above and beyond his duties as UP advisor. I haven't always agreed with him, but I have always learned from him.

He is an amazing, unique man, whose passion for journalism and truth is contagious. We are all living proof of his, almost mystical, powers to find a seed of potential in someone and cultivate it until it blossoms and bears fruit.

The fact that the administration can even consider firing Koretzky is evidence that they have no clue as to what the students want and what a jewel – albeit in the rough at times – they have

been so fortunate to have In their midst.

Koretzky is the best thing about FAU and the only reason I decided to stay and get my degree. Not only is firing him a tragic mistake, but even if he wanted to leave FAU, you should fight to keep him. If he leaves so does the only ounce of distinction and charisma that FAU has.

As I have always said to Koretzky " Without you, the UP is only " Pee."

As you will see in the following pages, I am not alone in my admiration and gratitude for Michael Koretzky. All I ask is that you take the time to read, and register, the words out of the mouths of students. They are the ones who you should be listening to. They are the ones who pay your salaries and make you proud.

It is your duty, not just to listen to them, but to hear them.

Listen closely, before you make an irrevocable mistake.

Lisa Lucas Class of 2007

The man behind my 180Koretzky is probably the best and worst thing to ever happen to me in college. The best because he is the reason why I'm gainfully employed as a writer. The worst because I now have impossibly high standards for a role model that no one may live up to.

When I met Koretzky, I was an 18-year-old journalism major who didn't know anything about good journalism. I wasn't even sure I wanted to be a writer. I was painfully shy, horribly naive, and shook at the thought of confrontation. Fast-forward three years, and I was working as a reporter at the Sun Sentinel, a top 50 newspaper, just a few months after graduating from FAU. I was covering night cops, one of the most confrontational beats at the paper. I was confident and comfortable talking to anyone who would listen.

I owe that 180 to Koretzky. The years I spent learning from him at the University Press were the most valuable moments of my college career. It sounds cheesy, but he really did mold me into the journalist and person I am today. I couldn't imagine how my life would be if I had never met him. And I don't want to.

I've been graduated for almost three years now, and I'm still learning from him. When I wanted to leave the Sun Sentinel, he helped me find the non-profit job I currently work at now. He's written me about a dozen letters of recommendation for all kinds of wacky things, and he always has some nifty, new journalism project up his sleeve that I get involved with and it makes me remember why I love journalism. I feel privileged to know him and now call him my friend.

I am just one of many, many people at the University Press whose lives have been irrevocably

altered by Koretzky. For him, being FAU's student newspaper adviser isn't a job — it's a lifestyle. He lives for helping train young journalists. He genuinely cares whether they succeed. I've seen him stick his neck out to help countless students over the years, even those who didn't necessarily deserve it.

Koretzky is more than just a college newspaper adviser. He's a role model, a rebel, a friend, a teacher, and a damn good journalist. FAU is losing one of the best things it has to offer aspiring journalists. It's a shame future UPers won't have the chance to know the adviser who changed my life.

Rachael Joyner Class of 2007 Former UP editor-in-chief

To Charles Brown,I spent only one semester on FAU's University Press and left for my own reasons. The fact still stands that Mr. Koretzky was one of the most informed, connected and patient of FAU's staff that I had come across.

I am disappointed in FAU on a massive scale. I am not proud to be an FAU Alum. (apparently I'm not since I don't pay the membership) My children will never attend. For anyone I can stop from making the decision to go; I make my very best efforts to deter them. I saw far too many great instructors and staff either fired or voluntarily leave for greener pastures. FAU's status as a quality educational institution is withering into nothingness.

Why do you think I believe FAU will fail? I'll tell you: it's because the people you let leave are the ones we go there for. I purposely signed up to take classes with the best instructors. They were the best because they made college what it should be: Challenging. The fact that you let these people go, and replace them with those who don't have the gumption or experience to demand a higher salary, pass on their idiocy and lack of motivation to us. As you hike up the tuition and fees, you drop the best people based on a price tag.

Where is this money coming from for the football team by the way? It appears you would much rather graduate students that are not prepared for life, to sit on their ass and watch football than be what a college is really about: Higher education.

Not shopping. Not football. Not dorm life. EDUCATION.

My disappointment is immense and I owe very little of my intelligence to your establishment.

Keep Koretzky and I might consider a higher level of respect.

If it makes you feel better, I might donate $15, $25 or $50.

Sincerely,

Pamela Thompson

I only joined the UP about 4 months ago and the first time I spoke to him I told him looks like David Duchovny on Californicationg and he replies saying it was the first time someone hadn't said he looked like Chuck Norris. He told me once that I was smart despite the fact that I was photographer even though I'm sure he has come to regret that statement since. But none the les i cannot recount th numerous great advice he given to me personally and to UPers in general. And when ever stuck in journalistic bind there no one to get you out like Koreztzky, And the UP will simply not be the same if he is not there to throw dollar coins for snide comments at your head.

Sabrina KoramblyumThere is no doubt that I would not be a photojournalist, or even have a job in journalism without his guidance. For me, Koretzy was not just an advisor for the student newspaper, he was a counselor, motivator, career center, professor and mentor all in one. He asked me the tough questions that I had never been asked or thought about before. Did I have what it took to be a journalist? Was I willing to put 100% of myself into this? Was I truly passionate about photojournalism? Why do I want to be a photojournalist? He pushed me to do things as a journalist that I didn't even know I was capable of. I was constantly striving to prove to him and to myself that I could do it, even when I didn't know I could. And I am so grateful for that motivation. He helped me prepare for an interview process, write an impressive cover letter and resume in order to get a job. He has even taken the time to help my friends the same way who were never even his students. And even now, 3 years after graduating, he still makes me push myself to be a better journalist and advises me in the next steps of my career. I walked into the UP as an art student, my last semester at FAU with absolutely no education in journalism and no idea what I wanted to do with my life, and 3 months later got hired a photojournalist at a newspaper. It took 3 months for him to teach me and prepare me for a career in journalism. I am so thankful that he believed in me and took the time to make me believe in me. I truly feel sad for the future UPers who will not have the opportunity to learn from and be inspired by Koretzky.

Lindsay Moore FAU Class of 2007Koretzky and I go back nine of the twelve years he has been at FAU. When I started at the UP, he was the guy who always pushed me to do more. Every move I made in my career, I called him to ask his opinion because "he knew more." I have had great success in my career, my photos have been published worldwide, yet I still ask Koretzky questions. . He sat with me for hours when I made the biggest decision of my career – to leave the biggest agency in the country and do more freelance and studio work. He has always been more than "an advisor." He took the time to sit with me and talk over details that would eventually shape my career.

I have watched the UP grow and fall, grow and fall and he was the guy who always brought it back. Without Koretzky there, the next time the UP falls, it will falter.

Ralph NotaroPhotographer and FAU AlumWhen I was in college, my greatest experiences were at the University Press. I was the Art

Director and learned so much from working here.

Most people work in the field for about 2-3 years before they can get professional design job at a corporate level ad agency. Because of Michael Koretzky in conjunction with the UP, I was hired directly after I finished college. The real world advice and feedback Koretzky provided me day-to-day, while at the UP, proved to be invaluable.

While working at the UP, Koretzky set up a meeting with the Vice President of Zimmerman Advertising for me. In the meeting I had a chance to interview the VP and ask him questions about his job. And who would have known that this would lead to a full time job offer in the future. If it weren't for Koretzky and his determination to watch me succeed, I wouldn't be where I was today.

I am about 3 years out of school with an incredible web design career working with the strongest minds in technology, and I look at my classmates and maybe 1 or 2 of the graduating class are ACTUALLY working in the field. I got so much real world experience from working at the University Press, and actual portfolio pieces. Koretzky introduced me to new clients where I freelanced and pushed me to work overtime to get my portfolio in shape to get a job right out of school. Without his guidance and dedication, it would probably take me an extra 3-4 years to be where I am now.

My heart goes out to Koretzky and I truly feel that firing him is HUGE mistake for the future of FAU media students. Those who go to the UP succeed because they are determined and he pushes them the extra mile to do so. Koretzky is a major asset to the future of Media students and its saddening that he is being let go. It's a tremendous loss for FAU.

Andi Galpern Class of 2007

Giving Thanks to Michael KoretzkyThis past April, I was sitting down to dinner with my Mom and a friend of mine when the discussion of heroes came up. When I didn't respond to my mother's question of who mine was, she said – proud and matter-of-factly – that she knew. I tilted my head and awaited an answer. " It's easy," she said. " Koretzky."

I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Well that's a given Mom, isn't it?”

One Friday in July of 2006, I walked into the University Center (what they called it in my day), up the stairs, and through the door of room 214. "I got an email about a meeting," I said. "I want to join the paper."

The sports editor pointed me in the direction of the art director who pointed me in the direction of the interim Editor-in-Chief. After the runaround, I met the newspaper adviser, Michael Koretzky, who promptly asked my name and immediately cut me off before I could answer and said “Wait wait – it really doesn't matter. I'm not going to remember it until you're published

and make an impact on this paper.”

Fair enough, I thought, I'm a nobody, and I don't really have anything else to do this summer.

One summer turned into three years where I moved, as Koretzky says, like a record: full circle. Starting out as a staff writer and ending as one. In between, I helped launch the country's first online daily college newspaper, ran a popular weekly blog, put out a special issue about university budget cuts and took part in the hardest job interview of my life when I ran for Editor in Chief.

I currently serve as Vice President of Membership for the South Florida Society of Professional Journalists where people continuously inquire about my time at FAU.

“What was your major?” they ask.

“Multimedia Journalism,” I say, most of the time in a low voice in hopes they didn't hear me so we can move on to the next topic.

“Oh that sounds so exciting! No wonder you ventured into online media.”

“Not really. The only reason I took those classes was because I wasn't allowed to work for the school paper without being enrolled as a student. The classes were (and still are, from what I hear) a waste, just like the Communications Department collectively. Everything I learned came from Michael Koretzky and the University Press. Classes just served as certified shit.”

After the look of complete and utter shock wore off, people usually changed the subject. But I always felt better explaining to people that the skills I learned for the great job I do now didn't come from a classroom, they came the UP and Michael Koretzky.

I've been told I'm part of the “cult.” The Koretzky-ites who flock together to massively take over journalism. I have no problem agreeing with that, because to be honest, it's completely true. I've been apart of enough projects and events where I have helped change journalism for the better that I couldn't care less if people compared my participation to that of a gang.

Koretzky, despite his disgusting humbleness (or depending on your viewpoint, his disgusting ego), is one of the most influential people I have ever met in my entire life (falling not behind, but next to my Grandparents). He treated me like a person, challenged me to think like a journalist (and just think, period), forced me to believe in myself, stood up for me when I deserved it and criticized me when I deserved that, too. He is fair, trustworthy, admirable, and most importantly, treated me like a real person when everyone else in college treated me like shit.

I have always believed that those who follow within the guidelines and footsteps laid out before them will only grow up to expect it in every aspect of their life. People aren't used to hearing “How do you want to do it? What do you like?” Fill in the blank yourself, Koretzky used to tell us. And those who lasted always did.

Some didn't make it, through. They either liked being babied or couldn't find any other way to

escape it. Others like myself graduated (from those shit classes, remember?) and got jobs straight out of college. A week after hugging Frank Brogan and walking across the stage in December, 2008, I got a part-time job working for a retail trade magazine. I still have it, while also freelancing for local blogs. Being this awesome, of course, is a full-time job.

Every so often I talk to old classmates who went through those shit classes without working at the school paper. They're still serving in restaurants or working at Hollister and I'm doing something I actually like. There's nothing wrong with restaurants (I worked in them for 7 years), but they'll be the ones who wait for someone to tell them what they need to do with their lives while I'm filling in the blank.

Michael Koretzky, thank you for continuously helping me fill in the blank. If you need any help filling in yours, holler at me.

Dori Zinn Class of 2009

When I first joined the UP, I had virtually no interest in journalism -- I had read they were hiring people to spot mistakes, and I was great with grammar. Two years later, I can have a conversation about student government, page design, AP style, libel, resumes, job interviews and a myriad of things I never thought I'd learn at a student newspaper. Michael Koretzky was at the center of all that. To me, he is the paper. He's the reason I've stuck around for two years, and I can safely say that I've learned more from him than I have from any other professor, especially things that I can apply to the real world.

To let him go would be one of the worst decisions Student Affairs has ever made. His knowledge and personality are probably the best recruiting tools the UP has. Having traveled with him to a student media convention in 2008, I can safely say that he's one of the best advisers in the country. The sessions he taught filled huge rooms to overflowing, and there was always a line of people who wanted his opinions and advice. To lose him as our adviser would be a huge setback for the UP and its ability to produce great content.

Thanks, and let me know if there's anything I can do to help

Tyler Krome

Koretzky pushed me, criticized me, encouraged me, and supported me, and I'm grateful to have worked under his leadership and the UP community. It really is the best thing that happened to me in college and I'm positive that it wouldn't have been the same if it wasn't Koretzky leading it. I'm also pretty sure everyone that learned under him would agree.

I was at the UP for three years. Started as a lowly designer, worked my way up to senior designer, assistant art director, and then art director. He encouraged me the whole way and I had much success. I learned design skills that I would never learn in my classes, and that to this day have been useful to my future. I got a job in my field right after college, at Forum Publishing and City Link. I attribute this success to having worked my way up at the UP under Koretzky's leadership. So many of us are where we are today thanks to Koretzky and the UP

will never be the same again without him.

Alex Mescher Class of 2007

For years, FAU has been trying to fire Michael Koretzky. In the bureaucratic minds of a university department, the move might make sense. But for those aspiring reporters attending FAU, the move smacks of suicide.

The act is suicide for the UP and most especially for those students wanting a true hands-on work experience of print media.

In any given semester at the very non-journalistic FAU there are perhaps a few students with the desire to learn what it takes to run a newspaper or write a really good story. Some of them even find their way to the UP.

I was one of those students. I showed up after one of my professors told me flat out that the only way I would ever become a reporter would be to go to FIU – a real J-school. I proved him wrong – or should I say, Koretzky showed me how.

I went on to become a reporter at The Stuart News after I and a fellow UPer won recognition for FAU by beating all other colleges in the nation for the best investigative writing piece of that year. The student union bureaucrats tried to fire him then too, but we wrote a story about them instead and won an award for our daring.

Koretzky taught me how to write and how to report. It's that simple. I'm not the only success story. Many under his instruction have gone on to report at The Palm Beach Post, The Stuart News, The Sun Sentinel to name a few.

Beyond the training, Koretzky provided us with many opportunities to meet the professionals, to freelance and to discover the trade well before graduation. He organized job fairs where we could find our future employers. That's where I found mine – twice. I was writing professionally well before I left FAU. Not bad for a school that doesn't offer a degree in journalism.

I know of no other adviser who would go this far. Without him, I doubt current and future UPers will have the same chances.

To dismiss him so readily is a grave error given his track record.

I know Koretzky will find some other low-paying gig. I just hope he likes it as much. FAU, however, will not find someone to take over his role quite so easily. I hope they reconsider.

Lily Ladeira Former UP editor-in-chiefIf it weren't for Michael Koretzky, I would probably be living in Boone North Carolina doing public relations for a bank. And I'd be miserable.

Instead, thanks to his wise advice — and wisecracks — I'm an active member of three professional journalism organizations, have two part time jobs (one at a top 30 newspaper) and an array of freelance projects that I love. All in sunny South Florida.

Putting into words how much Koretzky's advice and teachings has helped shape my life is nearly impossible. Since the first day I walked into the University Press newsroom as a freshman in 2005, he has showed me the ropes and supported my goals more than any other academic figure I've ever known.

More importantly than thanking him for everything he's done for me, I am eternally grateful to Koretzky for letting me screw up — which he watched me do many times. But each time, he was there to help me pick of the pieces, learn from my mistakes and choose a better path. To this day, he has never told me what to do but has always helped me figure out my options and offer advice on what he's done.

I often joked that during my time as editor in chief of the UP I talked to Koretzky more than my parents. That was no a joke. No matter how silly or how tough the question, he was — and still is — always there. His true passion to help young journalists goes far beyond his 20-hour a week FAU paychecks.

Koretzky has touched so many lives — at FAU and around the country — and I feel very sorry for the future UP staffers who will never reap the benefits of his invaluable guidance.

Koretzky is the most honest, creative and resourceful person I know. I am not sure where I would be today without him. He is so much more than just my former adviser; he is now my business partner and above all, one of my best friends.

-Michele Boyet UP Editor in Chief, Feb. 2008 – June 2009

Deeply saddened to hear about yet another mistake made by FAU's own hand. Michael Koretzky is a gentleman and scholar. Norman Mailer once said that writing is a spooky art. Now, without Michael Koretzky, the UP newsroom at FAU is indeed a haunted place. I wish he and his family nothing but the best...of which I am sure he's already and will continue to attain.

Sincerely & with a heavy pen, Anthony A. Choman University Press Writer

Koretzky is the reason people come to the UP and the reason people stay at the UP. He is the face of conventions. He is a teacher, a mentor, and more over a friend. But mostly, he has only ever wanted what is best for each and every student that has proven themselves in the newsroom.

Without Koretzky I would not have a job and I highly doubt I would see such a brilliant future a head of me. Through him I have made dozens of connections in not only the South Florida

media market but also the national media market.

The news that he was fired is devastating for us. We can no longer look forward to learning from him every week. But even though we won't be seeing him anymore we know he will always be our adviser, whether FAU is paying him or not.

FAU administration should be ashamed of the fact that they willingly chose to get rid of an adviser that is looked up to by journalism students all over the country.

We will miss him. I will miss him. And hopefully FAU will realize their loss.

Devin Desjarlais Former UP Editor

Dearest Koretzky,My time at the UP was short and not so sweet, to put it mildly.

You encountered me during the free-fall portion of my downward spiral, and I brought the UP along for ride. Yet despite my actions, you never gave up on me, and gave me far more chances than I ever thought I deserved. You are a credit to both journalism and humanity. Your unwavering support and guidance was most certainly a contributing factor to my current success.

I'm not going to lie; you're a tough pill to swallow at times, Koretzky, but your brutal honesty is what kept me in check. And for that, I can't thank you enough.

As you often said, this has "been my lowest-paying job, but also my favorite." Everything you've done for the UP and its student journalists has been a testament to that statement. You'll move on to bigger and better accomplishments, of that I'm sure, but it pains me that future students have been robbed of the opportunity to benefit from your wisdom and experience, as I have.

Yikes, I feel like I'm writing your eulogy. I guess, in a sense, I am...or, at the very least, your departure is the precursor to the UP's eulogy, because it is nothing without your guidance. Everything that the UP has accomplished in the last 12 years has been as a result of you and your encouragement.

Thank you, Koretzky. For everything. Your loyal follower, Kyriaki Tsaganis

Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to remember the Koretzky Era. For nearly twelve years, the University Press has been deftly shaped and guided by a genius with a beard. Some may think I refer to God. We just call him K.

As for my own experience in working for the UP, I received more encouragement from Koretzky than FAU's own Student Disability Office. I was a deaf student and required translation in a group setting so as to keep up with what was going on. The OSD did provide help, but the man they assigned to me did not know what he was doing. The office knew this once I complained about it, but they made no changes, so I ‘fired' my assistant and Koretzky assigned a staffer to type at Friday staff meetings. His reasoning? The lucky victim needed the practice in taking notes. Many people never take the time to look and really see the skills that can be developed in people, handicapped or not, but K did.

I could be wrong, but I do believe that's what higher learning institutions are supposed to be doing; encouraging and developing. Or at least that used to be a goal. As seems to be the trend now, people possessing characteristics once considered to be of vast importance are being fired and students are then deprived of decent role models.

You're decision to fire Mr. Koretzky is greatly flawed, and I do wish you good luck in filling his shoes. You'll need it.

Courtney Gale Class of 2008

To Whom It May Concern,I write this letter regarding the dismissal of Michael Koretzky from his position at the University Press.

I realize my commentary is rather lengthy, but I respectfully ask – as a graduate and an individual who truly cares about the future of my alma mater – for your time and consideration of my feelings on this matter. Please take the time to hear out an alum...

Let me start by saying that working with Michael Koretzky during my time at the UP was no easy task.

Indeed, there were days where I cursed what I thought was his ignorance, love for what I considered bickering and my perception of his desire to control the paper. My tenure at the UP was a short one (Fall '07-Spring '08) but serving as managing editor and later being elected editor-in-chief meant that I had a significant amount of interaction with Mike… indeed, much to my dismay at that point.

That said, I was still a kid then and hardly possessed the capacity to consider my true feelings about a personality that, up to that point, I had never come across in my academic life. Mike was, and is, a truly stand-out individual with perhaps the most innate talents as an adviser that I've ever come across. And that's putting it lightly.

This letter is not about me, however, it's about him. And now that you've heard my initial thoughts -- those that ran through my brain before I could comprehend or respect Mike's significance as an adviser to the UP -- I feel it most necessary to convey my retrospective

reflections on a man who not only touched my life personally, but left a lasting impression on everyone who walked through the door of the UP – myself included – in more ways than one.

Mike's duties as an adviser were relatively simple: use his professional knowledge to help guide us aspiring journalists to both learn and ensure FAU produced a quality student paper. Note my emphasis on the fact that these were his only "duties:" forget about his being a well of journalistic and worldy knowledge, his willingness to deal with any and all of our personal AND professional issues when there was nobody for any of us to turn to at midnight on a Tuesday; forget about the fact that he instilled, in all of us, a sense of how to run a paper with minimal guidance and with full freedom to use and expand upon our journalistic tools; forget that under his guidance, the UP became the first college student newspaper to go fully digital and offer an online edition and forget that Mike left us all to our own faculties to learn how to be true professionals.

Indeed, all of these accomplishments undoubtedly speak to Mike's clear desire to go above and beyond in helping each of us become not just better writers, but better professionals and better individuals. All of this notwithstanding, it's only in reflecting back on my dealings with Mike that I realize his value to the UP and the culture of the university as a whole.

In an increasingly partisan educational community, Mike never let us lose sight of the fact that college is a place where educated debate should not only be encouraged, but is compulsory to ensuring the smooth transition that all of us would eventually undergo as we left college and entered our careers.

More so than any professor I had with years of doctoral/research experience, and more so even than my own mental faculties at that time allowed, Mike subtly took me under his wing and treated me as his own child; he wanted me to learn not just how to write better or how to run a paper, but also how to express myself properly in a professional setting, how to work with different personalities and skills sets, and, most importantly, encouraged honest debate that spurred many of the advances that the UP – and myself personally – have undergone in the past several years.

Even more to his credit, Mike didn't single out one or two of us to treat this way. He treated every student that walked through the door with the same compassion and willingness to adapt to individual learning styles as he did with me. And believe me, dealing with 20 or 30 prima donnas who all believe they have the “answers” is no easy task, but it's one that Mike took on not only willingly, but with the honest intention of making us the most capable students and professionals possible.

Having written a book already, I will sum this up by stating that the dismissal of Mike from his position is not only troubling to me on a personal level, but will represent the loss of the true embodiment of an advisor and mentor. He invested the time to do more than teach simple lessons that are soon forgotten – he touched our hearts and let us discover (for ourselves) the potential which he recognized in each of us.

Most of all, though, Mike taught us how to blossom into free-thinking professionals and upheld the fundamentals of what it is to be a true educator (fundamentals that sadly have gone

to waste in many courses throughout not only FAU, but the nation's universities as a whole).

The impact of losing Mike Koretzky will be long lasting and more than detrimental to the UP not because there aren't individuals who are just as capable -- or even more -- of fulfilling his job duties, but because Mike put 110% of himself into each and every one of us on a personal and professional level to the point that his work far transcended the interaction necessary to simply helping us “make it through”. He took the time to teach each of us on an individual basis to the point that we were not merely a number or just another face in the crowd.

I can say in all honesty that Mike's teachings have made me realize -- even though it took years -- that he was not the constantly argumentative university 'hall monitor' I always thought him to be. Quite the contrary, he was a truly caring individual who encouraged education, innovation, and most of all, individuality and the ability to think independently amongst all who came across him.

I pity those students who will not have the opportunity to learn as much as I did from Mike. Indeed, after 12 years, the UP will not only lose perhaps the most capable and involved adviser it has and will ever see, but more importantly, will lose a man whose talents and abilities far supersede those of any doctors I've had the pleasure of being taught by at FAU. For a school that consistently stresses the presence of a growing number of expert educators, the loss of Mike Koretzky is nothing short of a leap backwards in this pursuit, and for this I am more than sorry.

My biggest sorrow, however, lies in the amount of students that will walk through the doors of the UP and not have the opportunity to work with a man who goes beyond just an educator and takes the word adviser to a whole new level. And while his legendary status will undoubtedly never fade, the opportunity for students to learn like I -- and so many of my other colleagues did -- the fundamentals of what it takes to be not just a student, but a professional capable of self-sufficiency and free thought, will never be replaced by anyone.

I thank you for your time in reading this letter and hope, with my heart and soul, that you will take the time to re-evaluate the decision to relieve him of his duties.

Put simply, Mike's shoes aren't just hard to fill: they're damn near impossible.

Sincerely Yours, Michael Anguille Class of 09'

Dear Koretzky,I don't know where to start without sounding cliche... I could say that even though I've only been at the UP for a little over a year, you've made me feel like I belong there. Or I could say that I trust your opinions and advice more than I do most other adults. Or I could say that you have made a true difference in my life. All of these things are, like I said, terribly cliche... But they are also very true. Koretzky, thank you. Just thanks. So much. You've done so much for

all the UPers in your many years here. And I can tell you what you've done for me: you've taken an average writer who never wanted to do much except poetry and short stories and shaped this writer into an above-average journalist. While at the UP, I have realized that I want to teach, that I want to be more assertive, and above all, that I never want to stop writing. Thank you for helping me come to understand myself as a writer. We sure are going to miss you at the UP and you know what else I realized? That we may never be the largest student newspaper in the galaxy/world/continent/tri-county area/universe... But while you were our advisor, I think we were the best. Thanks for everything.

-Sloane DavisWhen I first walked into the newsroom, Koretzky asked me one simple question: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" This question caught me off guard, what did I want to be? I knew I wanted to write, but I had no idea what being a journalist really looked like before I came to the UP. thanks to Koretzky and the UP, I have a much clearer idea of what I want to be when I someday grow up. Koretzky, thank you for helping me out at the UP. Be it finding me freelance work, reading my articles, or giving me criticism, you have helped me grow tremendously as a writer. I really hope to stay in contact with you, that is, if you don't mind still helping out a struggling college writer. Honestly, thanks for all you do.

Briana BrammKoretzky is an ideal adviser to the UP and the young people in its employ. I am certain that if you look at the quality of alumni the UP has produced, K's influence will prove evident. My story is just one of many examples of the ways in which this man has touched students' lives.

I worked my way up the ladder at the UP to attain what I think is the best job there, Opinions Editor. Not only did Koretzky recognize my talent, he nurtured it and challenged me to maintain my whimsy and humor while taking life a little more seriously. Koretzky taught me that being responsible didn't necessitate reworking my entire personality, but rather exploiting my greatest skills to their greatest effect. His riveting and informative lessons concerning free speech played a great role in inspiring me to apply to law school, (not to mention he provided a great reference). Last week I graduated with an excellent GPA from a top-tier law school, and in the commencement program, under my named, appeared the line "B.A., Florida Atlantic University." After passing the bar this summer, I look forward to beginning a lifetime of public service, fighting for the disadvantaged and disenfranchised. Koretzky evinces that undeniable principle that there is no way to put a price on or completely account for the value added to the world by great teachers.

As for the value added to FAU, Koretzky does more than build the reputation of the school by helping place students in respected positions in the industry with his impressive array of contacts, and inspiring them to go on to do great things, particularly in the Fourth Estate. He also provides an irreplaceable voice in the office of a newspaper that is a critical voice on campus at FAU. The UP is an essential part of FAU campus life, and the only reliable source of information about a commuter campus on which communication needs facilitation.

People like Koretzky may sometimes understandably make people in power nervous. Anyone who can inspire young people and who has no fear of and no filter on telling the truth, is dangerous to the often corrupt forces in charge of large institutions. However, Koretzky makes

FAU a better school because he makes the UP a real newspaper, and all FAU administrators must be made to recognize the wealth of experience, sass, and courage he brings to the UP and imparts on students. They are lucky to have him, and his loss would prove to be an enormous, incalculable one.

Max Schuver J.D. University of California, Hastings College of the Law 2010He screams: "YOU can put a penis in the paper!" What Koretzky means to me: he is the reason why I've accomplished some much throughout my time at FAU. I don't want to get all mushy. I can't call Koretzky my father because my father would never taken this much time to get to know me. My dad has been in and out of the hospital this year alone causing my grades to slip and a few moments of sanity. Koretzky became more than my dad could ever be in my life. I'm a complete stranger to Koretzky. He didn't have to extend his hand out to me or make me feel important or give me the ounce of hope that when I leave this earth my life can be meaningful. I came into the UP without a job, many friends, and no idea what I wanted to do with myself. I could do journalism and but then what? Once walking into the UP I went from some mediocre photographer to an actual editor in less then a year. Now I run my own television show as a producer for Owl Tv and is the new face for the three medias (radio, tv, and print) can merge. With confidence and his guideness I run a staff and am still learning to be a great leader.

If Koretzky leaves, it won't be sadness for those who have been lucky to have known him but those future students he could've help guide.

I will miss the guy who looks strangely like Chuck Noris, with his urine sample drinks, nerdy blazer, creepy janitor shoes, and let's not forget those leprechaun dollars he gives away. I'm sure Koretzky has a stash of a pot of gold he keeps safely hidden so losing this job is no burden to him. It will be the smiling faces of underage kids with their crazy music and not so functioning brain that "Mr." Koretzky will miss the most.

I want to tell Koretzky, thank you for all your help and you bet your sweet-ass I will continue to hold on to the guidance you've taught me.

Before joining the team we call the University Press, I would go to class and sit in my car between classes and talk to no one. I'm an art student focussing on photography and as most photographers dream, I wanted to be published. I called up the newspaper and walked into a new building for me known as the Student Union. (After 4 years at FAU, you would think I'd know about this place.)

I remember my first Friday meeting like it was yesterday. I had sweaty palms and was scared out of my mind to be called on like I was in class. I walked in, sat down and the advisor Michael Koretzky pointed me out and as loud as he could asked me why I wanted to be a part of the paper. I claimed my selfish reasoning of being published and he then gave me a page to fill. My first time being printed was a 2 page spread of concert photography in the UP.

From those 2 pages I later snagged a job being the house photographer for major concert promoters, Live Nation, for all of South Florida.

Koretzky put me in situations where I was forced to be social and meet new people. He is straight up and honest about everything. I learned more about ethics and gained more confidence in my writing from the UP than any class has taught me. Most of that thanks goes to Koretzky.

From that first Friday meeting he told me something: his goal was to either to show me that I want to do journalism for a career or not. After being senior photographer, photo editor, assistant art director and now the art director position within my grasps, Koretzky encouraged me to do more than photography. I photograph, design and write full issues with K over my shoulder.

I've said several times to several people, if it wasn't for the UP, I would have dropped out of college years ago. I've met and networked with so many people bc of Koretzky and have done numerous freelance jobs, including the Palm Beach Post, Sun Sentinel and hired freelance photographers.

He not only encouraged my involvement in the newspaper and media but also in academics. He's sat on the UP couches and helped me study for exams.

My first national journalism convention was quite the eye opener to how unique Koretzky is. Of all the seminars, his is always the most packed. We've been referred to as "Koretzky's kids" and had other students approach me and wish they could go to FAU just to have him as an advisor.

I know that if I call him at 11pm he will answer my questions, as he's done in the past. I appreciate everything he's done and the UP just won't be the same without him.

-Stephanie Colaianni P.S K would be so proud to see how much I've written. :)

In November 2007, I pulled Michael Koretzky aside in the hallway, just outside the newsroom, and told him I was stumped. Really stumped.

Stumped about finding that golden nugget of a story that would cement me as a journalist. The take-down-a-student-body-president caliber of story.

He said, “The best thing you can do is research a topic and do a special issue on it. Something that you can slap down in front of your hiring editor and say, ‘yes, I wrote that.' ‘All of it?' the editor would ask. ‘Every word,' you'd answer confidently.” And I'd have the job.

That advice defined my last semester at FAU. I devoted four months to researching and writing the "Declassified" issue. I sent Koretzky draft after draft. We hashed out ledes over the phone at night and he'd e-mail comments for revision.

We swapped more ideas and I jumped back into the field to dig deeper. Heck, I almost

convinced him at one point to tag along when I investigated FAU's underground access tunnels.

The first staff meeting after the issue hit news racks, he didn't shower praise. Instead, Koretzky gave me a yellow rubber chicken stuffed into a plastic trophy cup with my name scotch-taped on it. I wouldn't expect anything more from someone whom I can proudly call my mentor.

Our esteemed dictator then used his connections to secure me a job interview. I followed the scenario he laid out almost six months earlier to the word.

Boy, Koretzky predicted the hell out of that one.

I'll always be thankful that our never-cynical student media advisor always nudged the students ambitious enough to try, and categorically launched the careers of reporters ambitious enough to do.

I've already told him I'm pissed about his firing. But I'm more distressed that FAU administrators never had any appreciation for his passion and dedication.

I'm proud to say I saw it, and I wish our Fidel Castro-lookalike well on his next journey.

Thanks. --Phillip Valys Class of 2008

Attempting to sum up my experience with Michael Koretzky, I was reminded of this quote by Thomas Edison.

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work."

I showed up at my first University Press staff meeting not knowing anyone, not having much direction besides knowing I wanted to produce something in the visual realm; be it through drawing, art, or design. I didn't have direction, but I think Koretzky knew I had the drive to express myself somehow. At the time I didn't know that getting pelted with silver dollars was the starting point to my education/career path in graphic design/publication design/advertising.

Koretzky, like one of my punk rock heroes Henry Rollins, taught me the value in doing rather than just saying. He emphasized going out and taking chances at the risk of making one look foolish (times in which he exploited to my expense many times), rather than doing nothing and critiquing others. His real world anecdotes did a lot to spark my interest, make me laugh, and keep me interested. In my mind this was a guy that wasn't just in a class room, he was out there DOING IT. His eagerness in helping young people work/create/express themselves shone upon me and it will be a huge loss to the FAU community. Koretzky, I have a lot to thank you for as I've been fortunate enough to be working in my field at a professional level for the past 2 and a half years.

Andy Orge Class of 2007

Michael Koretzky (or Chuck Norris, as my generation affectionately called him) has been more than a part-time adviser: he's been a full-time friend and mentor like nobody else at our university.

In my three years at the UP, he's never steered me wrong; in fact, he doesn't really steer at all. Once Koretzky learns what you want in life, or at least from college, he tries to help you get there. When I first walked into the newsroom, he asked me: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” At the time, I didn't have the courage to be honest with myself, or him: I said “a copy editor.” I wasn't honest, maybe, but I was earnest — and he picked up on that.

So he took me aside and told me all about being a copy editor, and made sure I got my chance to do that at the UP. In less than a month, I proved myself capable of running the copy desk, and I became copy desk chief.

What I really wanted to do, though, was write. And I wouldn't have figured that out without Koretzky's help, either. When I was ready to give up on the UP, I told him and my editor about it. Koretzky told me to pick somewhere and he'd treat me to a meal and we'd talk about it.

We just ended up meeting at Panera. I left with two things in my gut: a really terrible ham on rye sandwich, and a renewed sense of purpose.

After that, I started writing. I became a lot more confident, both in my ability to write and in myself as a person. I'll always be grateful for that.

A hundred anecdotes couldn't sum up Koretzky, especially for people who don't know him at all — he does have a penchant for tweaking people and shaking up the system, and that's the way people often see him.

But he does it for the right reasons: He's always trying to encourage people to think for themselves, and to leave people with choices. Some people think he's radical, but I think he's just doing what everybody should.

He's taken the UP from a club-mentality outfit that got shut down for terribly and offensively written sex columns, to an award-winning paper that's respected nationally, even when it's not respected in its own back yard at FAU. I guess some people can't see the forest for the trees — or maybe the FTEs. But I've watched him help launch people into careers at New Times, City Link, The Palm Beach Post and Sun-Sentinel, and also help students who decide journalism is not for them.

Michael Koretzky knows — and teaches — what really matters. He's always gone above the call of duty for me and anyone who's cared enough to pay attention. He's quirky, sincere, and frankly brilliant — letting him go is one of the saddest, poorest decisions FAU's made in my time. But that won't change his dedication to the profession or to students. And it won't change

what he's meant to all of us who've learned from him.

Brandon Ballenger UP '07 – '10

Michael Koretzky is not a perfect man. He and I have had more than our fair share of differences. I refuse to write a sappy inspirational letter about how he touched so many lives, because that would just be insulting.

He wasn't that kind of teacher. Yes I use the word teacher, not advisor, because he taught me more than any professor I ever had at FAU. And that is not something I say lightly.

From the first day I met him, he treated me like an adult and expected me to act like a professional. That may sound like a simple quality in an advisor, but he was the only person in my entire educational career to do so. I think back to the countless coaches, counselors, and teachers in my adolescence that pushed and inspired me, but also babied me.

Because he treated me like an adult, I grew up. I literally became an adult while I was at the UP. Something I don't think many people my age have yet to achieve.

Yes, he's also the reason I landed my job at the Palm Beach Post, and I have him to thank for countless journalistic lessons that come in handy every day. But those accomplishments pale in comparison to the success of adulthood, a success that will not be guaranteed to the next generation journalism students at FAU.

Anyone that lets him walk away is an idiot, and losing him is an enormous failure for FAU.

-Amanda Leth

Mr. Koretzky,Although I have not been at the UP for sometime now it does not change the fact that in my brief time of knowing you and our few interactions with one another you've taught me things about journalism and writing that I would not otherwise have learned. I also had the priviledge of a front page story and that was something I had always wanted to accomplish. You and everyone in the UP at the time pushed me to that achievement. I intended to come back my fourth year at FAU and I was hoping to catch some of those coins and hear your witty comments. I am still stuck wondering why people insist on breaking things that don't need fixing.

Thank you for being great at what you do and never holding back on me or the other writers. I believe they have made a grand mistake.

Sincerely, Cierra Robinson

Michael Koretzky is a lot of things but there's one word that you would never describe him as, and that's conventional. His methods are quite unconventional. But they work. People leave the University Press and get jobs.

My work at the University Press went on to win me numerous awards including a national award worth $5,000. The sponsors of that award flew me up to Washington D.C. to accept it at the National Press Club. It was certainly an experience I'll always remember. That story exposed corruption at the highest levels of Student Government and led to the Student Body President resigning from office.

But if it wasn't for Koretzky's guidance and leadership I would never have had the ability to write it. He was beside me every step of the way, sometimes late at night, sometimes early in the morning, on his days off and on weekends. It didn't matter. When I needed him, he was there – always.

Koretzky went above and beyond in his duties. He always said that FAU was his lowest paying job, but it was his favorite. He didn't do it for the money. He did it for the students, and for future journalists. In fact it didn't matter what your life's goals were, he'd be there to help you achieve them.

One night in particular sticks out in my mind. Student Government elections had just taken place and the votes were being counted. It was well after midnight at this point. The University Press had just started incorporating online breaking news in to the newsroom. But I didn't know how to write breaking news. I was still used to writing for our weekly print edition. At that time all of the local media outlets were closely watching FAU's SG elections because the first time around they had been botched. I didn't want to make a fool of myself or mess up, so Koretzky said don't worry about it just give me call when the votes are counted. Well the votes weren't counted until after 1 a.m. in the morning and guess what – he still took my call. He waited up for me that night so I could break that story before anyone else in the whole world. It was one of the most thrilling and exciting moments of my college career. It was an amazing feeling.

Here's another memory that stands out in my mind.

I had just finished writing a story and I sent it to Koretzky to take a look at. He called me a few minutes later to tell me I spelled so and so's name wrong. He then said "If you ever send me a story with a name spelled wrong again I will make sure you never work in this town when you graduate." I told you his methods were unconventional. But I got the point he was making. It was sloppy work. And there's room for sloppy work. Especially since FAU doesn't have a real journalism degree and when I graduated I was competing against students from much larger schools like the University of Florida. I couldn't afford to be less than perfect. He was right to scold me. He knew I was better than that. He expected more from me and in turn I started to expect more from myself. I started to have confidence in my own abilities.

Koretzky taught me how to have a thick skin and I am better person because of it today.

Thankfully my time with Koretzky hasn't ended with my college career. He still regularly gives

me career advice or any advice I ask for.

I still remember him walking in to my classroom and lecturing us on how we needed to do something outside of classwork in order to get a job when we graduated. He told us that we wouldn't get a job on classwork alone. At the end of his speech he looked around the classroom and said "two of you will come to our next staff meeting and one of you will stick around." Well I was the one who stuck around and it was the best decision of my college career.

The University Press and Michael Koretzky shaped me in ways that no professor could. I learned things that no class could teach. I feel saddened for the future students that come to the UP without Michael Koretzky at the helm.

After reading through these many letters I've realized that my experience wasn't unique. Koretzky touched the lives of so many others in so many different ways. We collected these letters in the matter of two days. Unfortunately many former students were left out. But I know that these letters are just the tip of the iceberg.

Jason Parsley Former UP editor in chief Class of 2007

FAU does not deserve to have Michael Koretzky as their newspaper adviser.

Koretzky's methods are unique and motivating. His expertise should not be wasted at this mediocre university.

None of my FAU professors were concerned with preparing students for the real world. Most class projects would be considered a waste of time to use in a portfolio.

I landed a job as the Art Director for a Sun Sentinel publication before graduation. This would not have been possible without a well rounded portfolio. Koretzky taught me to think differently about journalism and design, and most importantly how to make them work together.

Koretzky has played a big role in my success, and the success of many others.

If FAU chooses to lose him, it's there loss.

Reese Chiavari Class of 2009