Summary Information
Abstract
The Graduate School of Journalism Records document the progression of the school
from its founding in 1912 through the 1990s. The records consist of audio/visual
material, clippings, copies of various publications, administrative correspondence,
notes, photographs, and transcriptions of articles and speeches.
At a Glance
Call No.: | UA#0065 |
Bib ID: | 5710251 View CLIO record |
Creator(s): | Columbia University. Graduate School of
Journalism. |
Title: | Graduate School of Journalism Records,
1912-2011
[Bulk Dates: 1950-1989].
|
Physical description: | 71.26 linear ft. (70 record cartons, 3 document
boxes)
|
Language(s): | Material is in English
|
Access: |
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least 2
business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library
reading room.
The collection is subject to a twenty-five year restriction that pertains to all
administrative records of the University. Additional restrictions may apply. Single
photocopies may be made for research purposes.
More information » |
Arrangement
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in six series. The physical organization reflects the
original order, the finding aid reflect its intellectual arrangement by topic.
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Series I: Administration, 1912-1999
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Subseries I.1: General, 1912-1997
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Subseries I.2: Accreditation, 1956-1986
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Subseries I.3: Admissions, 1965-1988
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Subseries I.4: Affirmative Action, 1972-1986
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Subseries I.5: Budgets, 1931-1986
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Subseries I.6: Centers and Organizations, 1986-1988
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Subseries I.7: Correspondence and Memoranda, 1950-1988
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Subseries I.8: Curriculum, 1936-1988
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Subseries I.9: Development, 1948-1988
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Subseries I.10: Faculty, 1949-1999
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Subseries I.11: Journalism Hall, 1954-1990
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Subseries I.12: Reports and Surveys, 1932-1988
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Series II. Alumni, 1940-2011
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Series III. Awards and Prizes, 1934-1988
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Series IV: Events, 1941-1990
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Series V: Deans and Directors, 1880-1996
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Series VI. Students and Student Records, 1943-1993
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Series VII: Publications
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Description
Scope and Content
Consisting of correspondence, reports, memorandum, meeting minutes, speeches, lectures,
notes, newspaper clippings, publications, photographs and audio/visual materials, these
records were generated by the administrative offices of the Graduate School of
Journalism and document the operations of the school, the evolution of journalism
education, and the work of administrators and students. The records are particularly
strong with regard to the evolution of the School's curriculum and development.
Series I: Administration, 1912-1999
Series I: Administration, 1912-1999 is comprised of twelve subseries that chronicle the day-to-day administration of the Graduate School of Journalism. This included budgeting, fundraising, correspondence, and memoranda; curricula and curriculum development, admissions, and affirmative action documentation; meeting minutes of faculty committees; documentation of committees specific to the School and to the larger profession; and material specific to the development of Journalism Hall.
Series II. Alumni, 1940-2011
Series II: Alumni, 1940-2011, contains files that discuss enrollment figures, alumni fundraising, announcements sent to classes, and anonymous evaluations.
Series III: Awards and Prizes, 1934-1988
Series III: Awards and Prizes, 1934-1988, consists of four subseries. Subseries III.1: General contains material that reflects the wide variety of scholarships and fellowships in the School and their sources of funding; subsequent series detail the origins and administration of the Maria Moors Cabot Prize (III.2), the Alfred I. du Pont Columbia University Award (III.3), and the Pulitzer Prizes (III.4).
Series IV: Events, 1941-1980
Series IV: Events, 1941-1980 casts light on lectures, memorials, colloquia, luncheons, and dinners hosted by the School. Other events such as commencement, field trips, and the School’s tradition of the Circle Line Boat Ride are also included.
Series V: Deans and Directors, 1880-1996
Series V: Deans and Directors, 1880-1996 is divided into nine subseries and chronicles the activities of deans and directors in the School. The records of Richard T. Baker, who served as associate dean of the School from 1961-1968 and acting dean of the Chungking school, and Joan Konner, are nominally represented as their records were not transferred to the University Archives; both series contain minimal correspondence. In addition, subseries V.4: Roscoe Ellard, 1950-1971, who created the journalism field trips program and served as associate dean from 1946-1947, is represented by correspondence and some subject files, but the full breadth of his tenure is not represented in the records. The series contains a small amount of correspondence for Talcott Wiliiams, the School’s first director.
SubSeries V.1: Carl W. Ackerman, 1931-1970
The work and activity of Carl W. Ackerman, first Dean of the School, is highlighted in Subseries V.1, 1931-1970 and includes speeches and address, correspondence, and material from Ackerman’s endeavor to establish a school of journalism in Venezuela. The core of the series dates from 1934-1956, but also includes information on Dean Ackerman’s Memorial Service in 1970.
Subseries V.3: Edward W. Barrett, 1952-1968
Subseries V.3, highlights the period of when Edward Barrett assumed the deanship of the School in 1956, until his resignation in 1968. The subseries includes general correspondence, documents regarding international travel, University relations, and student affairs.
Subseries V.5: Osborn Elliott, 1979-1987
The work of Osborn Elliott, the School’s seventh dean from 1974-1986, is captured in Subseries V.5. In addition to general administrative correspondence, the series contains subject files reflecting the work of committees, University administration, world events, and notes on his student advisees. Student files are restricted individually through 2057-2062.
Subseries V.7: John Luter, 1962-1973
Series V.7: John Luter, 1962-1973 is comprised of correspondence and subject files that reflect his work as the director of the Advanced International Reporting Program and his work as three term head of the Overseas Press Club.
Subseries V.9: Frederick T.C. Yu, 1978-1988
Subseries V.9: Frederick T.C. Yu, 1978-1988reflects the tenure of Yu as both associate dean and acting dean of the School. General correspondence and subject files are included in this series.
Series VI: Students and Student Records, 1943-1993
Series VI: Students and Student Records, 1943-1993. Student evaluations predominate this series and, as such, any files that contain confidential information covered by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act are individually restricted. Material that does not contain protected information is open.
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Using the Collection
Access Restrictions
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least 2
business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library
reading room.
The collection is subject to a twenty-five year restriction that pertains to all
administrative records of the University. Additional restrictions may apply. Single
photocopies may be made for research purposes.
Restrictions on Use
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of
the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The
responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Graduate School of Journalism Records;
Box and Folder; Columbia University; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia
University Library.
Related Material at Columbia
Central Files, 1890-1984 [Bulk Dates: 1890-1983]
Graduate School of Journalism Photograph Collection, 1912-1999
School of Journalism Founding Documents, 1892-1912 [Bulk Dates: 1903-1904]
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About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Archives; machine readable
finding aid created by Columbia University Libraries Digital Library Program
Division
Processing Information
Processign of this collection was made possible through a generous grant from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Records processed 11/2011-5/2012 Joyce LeeAnn Joseph, Pratt Institute 2011-2012
Finding aid written 06/2012 Jocelyn Wilk and Susan Hamson
Machine readable finding aid generated from MARC-AMC source via XSLT conversion
September 8, 2012
Finding aid written in English.
2012-09-08
xml document instance created by Carrie Hintz
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Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
All links open new windows.
Genre/Form
Subjects
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History / Biographical Note
Historical Note
The School of Journalism was established through monies left
to Columbia University in the will of Joseph Pulitzer who died in 1911. As he wrote in
his will, “There are now special schools for instruction for lawyers, physicians,
clergymen, military and naval officers, engineers, architects and artists, but none for
the instruction of journalists. That all other professions and not journalism should
have the advantage of special training seems to me contrary to reason.” [pp. 3-4,
“Extracts from the Will of Joseph Pulitzer, died, October 29, 1911]. The original
agreements regarding the establishment and organization of the school were made in 1903
and 1904, but the school did not actually open until 1912 – a year after Pulitzer
died.
Seventy-nine undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in that first class, including
a dozen women. Classes convened at several locations around campus, as the Journalism
building was still under construction. The building opened the next year, and in 1917
the first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded. The School of Journalism began as an
undergraduate school offering a B.Litt. Degree to its graduates, but in 1935 the School
became the first in the nation to adopt a program exclusively at the graduate level.
Dean Carl W. Ackerman, one of the first nine to graduate from the School in 1913,
spearheaded the school’s 1935 transition to become the first graduate school of
journalism in the United States. Devoted to intensive, hands-on instruction, the school
gave classes of sixty students the lives of journalists, racing around the city on
subways to find stories during the day, and drafting articles in a single, large
newsroom in the Journalism building well into the night.
The Journalism School’s reach and reputation as a unique incubator of talent soared
throughout the years, from the foundation of the Maria Moors Cabot Prizes in 1939 to
promote inter-American understanding to the establishment of satellite schools in China
and Venezuela during the next decade. The school also began to offer coursework in
television news and documentary to supplement its traditional focus on newspapers and
radio. Approaching its 50th year, the school instituted Journalism Day and the Columbia
Journalism Award, and in 1961 established the
Columbia Journalism
Review,
a groundbreaking publication covering trends and developments in the
profession.
The Journalism School’s sixth decade was an exciting one, as the building added
newsrooms, began to dispense the National Magazine Awards, and created the Alfred I.
DuPont – Columbia Awards for excellence in broadcast journalism. In 1966 the school
brought in Fred Friendly, the legendary former president of CBS News, and opened a new
broadcast news laboratory shortly thereafter. Friendly initiated a summer program for
minority students, and Luther P. Jackson ’51 became the school’s first African-American
professor.
Innovation with an eye towards tradition continued to guide the Journalism School
through the years. The 1960s and 1970s established the blueprint of the school’s basic
curriculum and codified Reporting and Writing 1 (RW1) as the cornerstone of the Master
of Science experience. The creation of the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship to enrich business
journalism in 1975 and the 1985 creation of the Delacorte Center for Magazine Journalism
gave students invaluable opportunities to specialize. Recognizing that computers and a
changing media landscape would revolutionize journalism in the twenty-first century,
Dean Joan Konner moved decisively in the 1980s and 90s to ensure that the school offered
cutting-edge technology and intensive broadcast experience second to none.
The addition of a Ph.D. Program in 2001, a Master of Arts degree in 2005, and the 2006
opening of the Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism have underlined the
Journalism School’s continuing vitality as it approaches its centennial. Recently, the
opening of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism and the announcement of a new dual M.S.
degree in Computer Science and Journalism have demonstrated the school’s continued
commitment to innovation and its endless capacity to evolve along with a field that is
always on the move.
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