Bittner, who joined the UNC faculty in 1980, died at home in the evening hours of April 9 after battling a long illness.
He was 58.
Bittner was the James H. Shumaker Term professor of Journalism and Mass Communication and taught broadcasting while serving as head of the electronic communication sequence.
Bittner's colleagues and former students praised him for his open-door policy and his diverse scholarly interests.
Prominent authors Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe became the focus of Bittner's extracurricular research and gained him respect among literary circles.
His papers on Hemingway and Wolfe received high praise and gave him the opportunity to present his work at conferences and professional meetings.
Before joining the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 1991, Bittner served 10 years in the College of Arts and Sciences and held the position of chairman of the Department of Radio, Television and Motion Pictures from 1982-87.
Bittner's professional experience includes 12 years in broadcast media and a stint as the executive director of the Radio-Television News Directors Association of the Carolinas.
He also has written 16 books, including eight college textbooks about mass communication, and has had numerous scholarly articles published in professional media journals.
