By james art
Cor Chronicle Faculty Advisor Receives Civic Involvement Award
Earlier this week, Mark Zeske, The Koran ChronicleHimself a faculty advisor and department advisor for the University of Dallas Journalism concentration, he was honored as a high-spirited citizen of Irving. According to a program from the awards ceremony, “The Irving High Spirit Citizens Program was initiated in 1988 by the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau. Its purpose is to recognize and encourage the spirit of volunteerism in the city of Irving.”
Prominent members of the UD community have won this award in the past, including Sybil and Lyle Novinsky in 2019 and Sandy Morgan in 1992.
The requirements for the award include “volunteer services to benefit an Irving organization or philanthropy,” and Zeske has done a lot to earn this recognition.
Zeske served on the Irving Planning and Zoning Commission for five years before leaving in 2020. He was then elected to the Irving City Council for Ward 3, serving for three years until 2023. He also was a board director of the Irving Cable and Library Board.
Zeske also has a large amount of volunteer work under her belt, including volunteering on the Irving Arts Center Granet Review Panel, which reviews and enhances grants awarded to the Irving Arts Center, participating in Irving 360, a free program created and hosted by the City of Irving, to to educate residents and members of the business community about city government and affiliation with the Friends of the Irving Archives and Museum who support and advise this institution.
Zeske’s achievements and accomplishments are not limited to the city of Irving. He also served as a children’s liturgy teacher and on the Parish Advisory Board at Holy Family of Nazareth Catholic Church, a judge for the Ben Washington Baptist High School Essay and Oratorical Scholarship Contest, and spent 40 years as a youth sports coach in Irving . Zeske has also served the community as a sports referee, officiating over 6,000 youth sports events.
An Irving native, Zeske attended Dallas Jesuit as a high school senior. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Dallas in 1980 and then graduated from the University of North Texas in 1985 with a master’s degree in journalism.
Zeske came to UD in September 2022 to lead the journalism program.
One of Zeske’s first jobs was as an English teacher at Irving High School, and he spent 14 years in the Irving Independent School District. He continued to write for Sports Illustrated as early as 2007, covering NASCAR racing. He has also contributed to the Dallas Morning News and Irving Rambler covering local Irving and dfwVarsity politics and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on local Irving and Dallas high school football.
While all of these experiences are commendable, what the High Spirited Citizens Award does not take into account is that Zeske is also a husband, father, teacher, mentor and role model at home and here at UD. We are blessed to have him and hope to have him for many years to come.