Nicholas Lemann 1972

Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University
Nicholas Lemann 1972 graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1976, where he concentrated in American history and literature and was president of the Harvard Crimson. In 2003, he was appointed Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University. During his time as dean, the Journalism School launched and completed its first capital fundraising campaign, added 20 members to its full-time faculty, built a student center, started its first new professional degree program since the 1930s, and launched significant new initiatives in investigative reporting, digital journalism, executive leadership for news organizations, and other areas.  He stepped down as dean in 2013, following two five-year terms.  Lemann continues to contribute to The New Yorker as a staff writer. He has published five books, written widely for such publications as The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, The New Republic, and Slate, and worked in documentary television with Blackside, Inc., “FRONTLINE,” the Discovery Channel, and the BBC.
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