Embedded journalist, Mike Boettcher sits with public relations grad student Randy Baucom during a luncheon Thursday for student from his fall semester class "War & Media." The students communicated with Boettcher through video conferencing and blogs, but had never met in person. The class is the first of it's kind at any university across the nation. Elizabeth Nalewajk/The Daily

Mike Boettcher, former CNN and NBC journalist and OU alumnus, returned to OU Thursday to meet for the first time a group of students he communicated with every week for a semester.

Boettcher communicated with students for “War and Media,” a course offered to journalism and mass communication and international and area studies students, while working as an embedded journalist in Iraq for 15 months.

The students in the course explored the differences in the Iraq and previous wars by viewing Boettcher’s first hand accounts.

After nearly three decades as a war correspondent, Boettcher dropped contracts with major news corporations in December 2007 to start his Web site, No-Ignoring, to detail his journeys overseas.

“I’ve seen horrific tragedy and great triumph,” he said. “I’ve had a blessed life, but I was ready for a new role.”

Boettcher’s son, Carlos, collaborated with him to start the Web site and accompanied him to Iraq.

“Once I gave him the idea, he said we would make it happen,” Boettcher said. “For decades I’ve been reporting to an audience I’ve never seen. I wanted to take the time to teach students the truth about what is going on over there.”

Boettcher said journalists have never embedded themselves for a full, 15-month military tour, but he said he’s doing it because he thinks it’s the right thing to do.

“These issues are of vital importance to the country, but they continue to be ignored,” Boettcher said. “It was the right thing to do for the country and for those who serve the country. It was important to tell their stories.”

Boettcher told students he felt like they had become family because of the unique bond they developed throughout fall course.

Students ate lunch with Boettcher and had a chance to give him feedback about the course.

“It was surreal to have him here,” said Marissa Alberty, international and area studies junior. “We had only seen him on a little screen for so long; it was exciting to get a chance to meet him in person.”

After creating his Web site, Boettcher approached OU President David Boren about bringing the project to the classroom.

Joe Foote, dean of Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, and Zach Messitte, vice provost for international programs, taught the course from a classroom while Boettcher corresponded with the students through a video conference.

Messitte said “War and Media” was the first course of its kind at OU and courses like it will be more common within the next 10 years.

“In the future, it won’t be a novelty because people will expect it,” he said.

The course examined how the media covered war in the past and present and brought together students of different disciplines.

“It brought all of these different people together, and I think it is something that resonated with students,” Messitte said. “Twenty years from now, there will be very few specific courses the students remember, but I think this will be one of them.”

Boettcher said he continually faced problems like technical difficulties and low funding, but Messitte said Boettcher didn’t want to give up on the course.

“He dedicated himself to this project,” Messitte said. “Not only do I think it was important for the students to meet him, but I think he needed it as well.”

Boettcher said it meant a lot for him to meet the students because he said everyone had invested something in the course.

“Education doesn’t begin and end at semesters,” he said. “Everyone put their time and effort into this.”

Boettcher said he is in the process of redesigning his Web site so he can switch the focus from a father and son’s journey to the issues at hand.

“Sometimes I wonder why I’m still doing this,” he said. “Then I remember I’m doing this for all of my colleagues who believed in it, and all of those who didn’t make it. They deserve more than what they are getting.”

Boettcher said he will return to Iraq in the next few days, but eventually will return to Oklahoma.

He said he and his wife plan to move to Oklahoma after his journey. Boettcher said he hopes to work at OU after he moves back.

“My mother used to say teaching is the most honorable profession,” he said. “Throughout this experience, I have found that to be true.”