After fallout over denied tenure at UNC Chapel-Hill, acclaimed journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones has found her new home in Howard University, but not alone. Accomplished Howard alumnus Ta-Nehisi Coates will be joining Hannah-Jones as well, and together the two will establish a center for journalism and democracy! Read all the details in the release from Howard below.
The appointments are supported by nearly $20 million donated by Knight Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation, as well as by an anonymous donor, to support Howard’s continued education of and investment in Black journalists.
Howard University announced today that Nikole Hannah-Jones and Howard alumnus Ta-Nehisi Coates will join the Howard University faculty. Hannah-Jones will be a tenured member of the faculty of the Cathy Hughes School of Communications, filling the newly created Knight Chair in Race and Journalism. Coates, journalist and author, will be a faculty member in the flagship College of Arts and Sciences. Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, will also found the Center for Journalism and Democracy, which will focus on training and supporting aspiring journalists in acquiring the investigative skills and historical and analytical expertise needed to cover the crisis our democracy is facing. The center hopes to work across multiple historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) that offer journalism degrees and concentrations.
“It is my pleasure to welcome to Howard two of today’s most respected and influential journalists,” said Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA, president of Howard University. “At such a critical time for race relations in our country, it is vital that we understand the role of journalism in steering our national conversation and social progress. Not only must our newsrooms reflect the communities where they are reporting, but we need to infuse the profession with diverse talent. We are thrilled that they will bring their insights and research to what is already a world-class, highly accomplished team of professors.
“Further, we are grateful to the Knight, MacArthur and Ford foundations, as well as to an anonymous donor, for their support in our continued efforts to train the next generation of journalists and to provide a diverse pipeline of talent to America’s newsrooms,” said President Frederick.
Hannah-Jones, the creator of the 1619 Project, will be the inaugural Knight Chair in Race and Journalism and will begin her faculty role this Summer. Award-winning author Coates will hold the Sterling Brown Chair in the Department of English and will begin this position following completion of several current obligations.
“I am so incredibly honored to be joining one of the most important and storied educational institutions in our country and to work alongside the illustrious faculty of the Cathy Hughes School of Communications and the brilliant students it draws in,” Hannah-Jones said. “One of my few regrets is that I did not attend Howard as an undergraduate, and so coming here to teach fulfills a dream I have long carried. I hope that the decision that Ta-Nehisi and I made to bring our talents to an HBCU will lead others to make a similar choice.
“We are at a critical juncture in our democracy, and yet our press does not reflect the nation it serves and too often struggles to grasp the danger for our country as we see growing attacks on free speech and the fundamental right to vote,” Hannah-Jones continued. “In the storied tradition of the Black press, the Center for Journalism and Democracy will help produce journalists capable of accurately and urgently covering the challenges of our democracy with a clarity, skepticism, rigor and historical dexterity that is too often missing from today’s journalism. I am so grateful to the Ford, Knight and MacArthur foundations for the initial funding to launch the center and hope to very quickly meet the center’s $25 million fundraising goal.”
“I heard a wise man once say, ‘A man who hates home will never be happy.’ And it is in the pursuit of wisdom and happiness that I return to join the esteemed faculty of Howard University. This is the faculty that molded me. This is the faculty that strengthened me,” Coates said. “Personally, I know of no higher personal honor than this.”
For 50 years, the Howard University School of Communications has trained the nation’s top communicators and media professionals, from award-winning news anchors and journalists to filmmakers, public relations executives and researchers. The school will celebrate its 50th anniversary during the 2021-22 academic year, highlighting its history of disseminating truth through communications and providing community service through storytelling.
The College of Arts and Sciences (COAS) is at the heart of Howard University, recognized worldwide as a premier, comprehensive research university. COAS is often referred to as the University’s flagship because it is the oldest and the largest of the University’s 13 schools and colleges. Its predecessor was founded in the second year of the University’s existence, and today it enrolls more than 3,000 students – making it the most popular choice among Howard’s undergraduates.
Three foundations and an anonymous donor have contributed nearly $20 million to support the University’s demonstrated academic and journalistic excellence.
