Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism Establishes Spencer Fellowship for Education Reporting

$2 Million Grant to Hone Research and Reporting Skills for Time-Tested Beat

New York, Sept. 12, 2007 – The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and the Spencer Foundation have established the Spencer Fellowship for Education Reporting.

The fellowship will enable education writers to spend a year at Columbia developing a long-form reporting project that advances the understanding of the American education system. Three fellows will be selected for the program, based upon their previous and potential work, demonstrated commitment to reporting on education issues, and the importance and originality of their intended projects. Proposals can take the form of a narrative newspaper story or series, a magazine article or a nonfiction book.

The fellowship is open to professional educators, working journalists and candidates with a passion for education writing. It aims to provide writers with a break from the newsroom to delve into an important aspect of education reporting, and the research resources of a distinguished university.

“Part of the power of journalism is its ability to generate informed public discussion on major issues,” said Nicholas Lemann, Dean of the Journalism School. “There is no issue more important than education. What we are trying to do here is help to shape and launch three ambitious and memorable works of journalism per year on educational topics – works that demonstrate the way our profession, when practiced at its highest level, can bring public questions vividly to life.”

The fellowship is funded by a $2 million grant over the next four years from the Spencer Foundation, whose goal is to investigate ways in which education can be improved around the world. At Columbia, the Spencer Foundation’s generosity will provide journalists and educators with the coursework and research to produce accessible and compelling journalism. Participants in the year-long residential fellowship will work closely with an advisor who will help the subject matter and scope and see the project through the writing and editing process. Fellows will attend classes at Columbia, including Teachers College and the Journalism School.

“The Spencer Foundation is committed to supporting programs that spur awareness of the challenges and opportunities in education around the world,” said Michael McPherson, president of the Spencer Foundation. “Working with this outstanding journalism graduate program allows us to continue to meet our goal of improving education at all levels.”

Professor LynNell Hancock, a Journalism School faculty member and a nationally known education, family and children's issues writer, will act as curriculum specialist and chief advisor to the program. Samuel Freedman, who teaches book writing, and Sheila Coronel, who runs the Journalism School’s Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism, will also be key advisors. Associate Dean Arlene Morgan will serve as the overall director in the application and selection process.

Applications for the 2008-2009 academic year can be downloaded from the school’s website. The deadline is January 31, 2008. Fellows will be named by March 1, 2008. Recipients will receive a $75,000 stipend to cover fees and living expenses in New York.

About the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

For almost a century, the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism has been preparing journalists in a program that stresses academic rigor, ethics, journalistic inquiry and professional practice. Founded by Joseph Pulitzer in 1912, the school offers Master of Science, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees.

About the Spencer Foundation

The Spencer Foundation was established in 1962 by Lyle M. Spencer, who founded an educational publishing firm in the 1930s that was later sold to IBM. The Foundation received its major endowment upon Spencer’s death in 1968 and began formal grant making in 1971. The Spencer Fellowship for Education Reporting is a key activity of the Spencer Forum, a Foundation initiative established in 2005 to strengthen the connections between education research, policy and practice and to enrich the broader public discourse on issues related to education.

About Columbia University

A leading academic and research university, Columbia seeks to advance the frontiers of knowledge and to foster a campus community deeply engaged in understanding and addressing the complex global issues of our time. Columbia’s extensive public service initiatives, cultural collaborations, and community partnerships help define the University’s underlying values and mission to educate students to be both leading scholars and informed, engaged citizens. Founded in 1754 as King’s College, Columbia University in the City of New York is the fifth oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. For more information, visit www.columbia.edu .