WASHINGTON - The Howard University Center for Journalism & Democracy has announced the inauguration of  the Center for Journalism & Democracy Visiting Professorship Program.

The visiting professorship is meant to attract working journalists at the top of their fields in investigative journalism and data journalism.  Selected journalists will be in residence at the Center for Journalism & Democracy for one semester or longer.  The professorship will begin in Spring 2024.

“When I came to Howard University in 2021, I was determined to show what HBCU journalism programs could do if they did not always have to try to do more with less but could do more with more. As a result, we are determined to make this visiting professorship one of the most prestigious and coveted academic residencies for working journalists in the country,” said Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and founder of the Center for Journalism & Democracy. “This professorship will allow us to bolster the brilliant work already being done within the School of Communications by bringing journalists at the top of their field to teach investigative and data reporting classes for Howard students eager to do the most critical reporting in our democracy. I am so proud to bring this to Howard.”

The Center for Journalism & Democracy is devoted to bolstering the field of investigative journalism in the service of multiracial democracy. Hannah-Jones, who also serves as the Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at the Cathy Hughes School of Communications, has called attention to the need for historically-informed investigative journalism that meets the threats to our democracy with urgency and fulfills broader representation among the nation’s investigative reporters.

Funded through generous support from the MacArthur Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and with additional philanthropic support from the Open Society Foundations, the resources that the groundbreaking program provides are comparable to what is typically available at a well-endowed Ivy League university. A full-time appointment offers a salary of $75,000 for the semester plus fringe benefits. Part-time appointments offer $37,500. Hannah-Jones said the center plans to pilot the program at Howard University and fund similar professorships at other HBCUs. 

“While there are a handful of journalism visiting professorships across the country, our program will be unparalleled in higher education for its investigative focus and its service to the HBCU community,” said Kali-Ahset Amen, executive director of the center. “The program not only gives students access to critical investigative coursework, but it will also establish new points of entry for working journalism professionals to engage in HBCU educational and campus life.”

The Center for Journalism & Democracy opened at Howard University last year. Founded by Hannah-Jones, it is a first-of-its-kind academic center committed to strengthening historically-informed, pro-democracy journalism not just at Howard, but across the diaspora of HBCU journalism programs.

The Center is also investing in existing faculty at Howard, including  giving all journalism faculty a one-time, no-strings grant this year while  also creating a grant program for journalism faculty to receive additional training, professional development or support for their own reporting or research projects.

Application details for the visiting professorship are available on Higher Ed Jobs (job code: 178426937). For more information, please contact CJD@howard.edu.   

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 14 schools and colleges. Students pursue more than 140 programs of study leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced two Schwarzman Scholars, four Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 12 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. Howard also produces more on-campus African American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.