About the Program
The College of Arts & Sciences' Distinguished Visiting Journalist Program brings accomplished journalists to Cornell for extended visits. The program aims to recognize excellence in journalism and to provide opportunities for select journalists and the university community to engage with each other.
While on the Ithaca campus, the visiting fellows will interact with faculty, researchers and students in a variety of organized and informal settings, such as moderating and/or participating in panel discussions, making guest presentations in classes, exploring research laboratories and special collections, and joining tea or dinner at a residential college. The fellows will inspire and engage with students interested in journalism and the media while learning about the latest research, scholarship and creative works emerging from Cornell.
“This program is an acknowledgement that journalism plays an essential role in our society, in all the disciplines that Cornell explores, and that understanding journalism is part of understanding the world.”
~Marc Lacey, Managing Editor of the New York Times and Inaugural Distinguished Visiting Journalist
Distinguished Visiting Journalists may have interests in any disciplinary area in the College including the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Candidates for these prestigious appointments will be selected by an internal committee of faculty and staff. Selected fellows will have demonstrated an interest in fundamental research, scholarship and creative works that impact humanity, as well as in mentoring graduate and undergraduate students interested in the field of journalism and the broader media landscape.
The program is funded through a significant endowment from Jan Rock Zubrow ’77 and Barry Zubrow that established the The Jan and Barry Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalism Fellows Fund. The program has received additional philanthropic support from Jay Branegan ’72, Rose Gutfeld Edwards ’78 and the Dr. Guinevere Griest ’44 Fund for Public Engagement in A&S.
Advisory Committee
- Kaushik Basu, Carl Marks Professor of International Studies, Economics
- Itai Cohen, Professor of Physics
- Peter John Loewen, Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Government
- Riché Richardson, Professor, Africana Studies & Research Center
- Tricia Ritterbusch, Assistant Dean of Communications, College of Arts and Sciences
- Monica Yant Kinney, Interim Vice President for University Relations
Selection Process
Currently, the Advisory Committee selects fellowship recipients by invitation only on a rolling basis.
If you are a working journalist and would like to be considered for a fellowship, please contact Tricia Ritterbusch, Assistant Dean of Communications for the College of Arts & Sciences.
Expectations of Fellows
Selected fellows are asked to spend between two to eight weeks during either the fall or spring semester. The committee will consider shorter engagements as requested. We will work with the fellows to shape the visits to suit their interests and maximize opportunities for engagement. A stipend will be provided during the fellow's time on campus.
Fellows can engage in a range of activities, including, but not limited to:
- Sitting in or guest lecturing in relevant classes
- Meeting with researchers and groups of researchers, including time for extended meetings and “shadowing”
- Teaching an informal masterclass on journalism to undergraduates
- Engaging in mentorship of graduate and undergraduate students
- Exploring library collections and research labs
- Participating on a public panel with faculty on a topic of broad interest
- A tea or dinner on West Campus with students and faculty
- Meetings with Cornell Sun student reporters and editors
- Meetings with campus communicators
Distinguished Visiting Journalist Fellows
Spring 2025
Anne Thompson, Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist Fellow
Chief Environmental Affairs Correspondent, NBC News
Thompson began her role as chief environmental correspondent in 2007, and her reports appear across all platforms of NBC News, including “NBC Nightly News,” “Today,” MSNBC and NBCNews.com.
She has reported on many environmental issues, including the now-defunct Pebble Mine proposed for Alaska and a now-postponed new chemical plant in Louisiana. She has covered the global climate negotiations in Copenhagen, Paris and Glasgow, and she spent five months living in Venice, Louisiana, to cover the Gulf oil spill.
She has focused on proposed solutions to climate change, including machines that pull carbon dioxide from our atmosphere, mass timber, prairie strips and using technology to better identify sources of rare minerals needed to power the batteries of the present and future.
From 2005-07, Thompson served as chief financial correspondent for NBC News, reporting on financial and economic news, for which she was nominated for four business and financial news Emmy Awards. Thompson has won five Emmys as a correspondent for NBC News; an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Journalism Award for coverage of Hurricane Katrina; and two Gerald Loeb Awards for distinguished business and financial journalism.
Before joining NBC News, Thompson had been an award-winning general assignment reporter for WDIV-TV, the NBC affiliate in Detroit, since 1986. While at WDIV, Thompson was honored with seven Emmy Awards for a variety of stories, including her coverage of the Jessica DeBoer custody battle, a profile of Kirk Kerkorian and his attempted takeover of Chrysler, a series on two serial killers in the Detroit area, and a report on the near riots that broke out following the Detroit Pistons’ NBA championship in 1990.
Fall 2024
Ann Marimow, Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist Fellow
Supreme Court Correspondent, Washington Post
Marimow follows the work of the high court for the Washington Post at a time of historic change and heightened scrutiny of its justices. She has reported on the federal courts for more than a decade and written revelatory stories about Donald Trump’s lasting legacy on the judiciary, the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision eliminating the nationwide right to abortion and gaps in the judiciary’s system for investigating workplace misconduct. She has covered the confirmations of three Supreme Court justices and Trump’s two impeachment trials, and broke the story about the Obama Justice Department’s leak investigation that targeted a Fox News reporter as a possible criminal co-conspirator.
Fall 2023-Spring 2024
David Folkenflik, Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist Fellow
Media Correspondent, National Public Radio
Folkenflik’s stories and analyses are broadcast on multiple NPR programs, including All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Here & Now, and are featured on NPR’s website and mobile platforms. Folkenflik’s writing has appeared in publications including the Washington Post, Politico Magazine and Newsweek International. He is also the author of “Murdoch's World: The Last of the Old Media Empires” and editor of “Page One: Inside the New York Times and the Future of Journalism.”
Spring 2023
Andrew Morse, Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist Fellow
President and Publisher, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A former senior leader at CNN, Bloomberg and ABC News, Morse serves as president and publisher of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the South’s largest newspaper. As executive vice president and chief digital officer at CNN, Morse oversaw a global portfolio of businesses that included CNN.com, CNN Business, CNN Audio, CNN Underscored (the network’s e-commerce product) and CNN’s direct-to-consumer efforts, as well as the CNN en Español cable network and digital platform. Prior to his position at CNN, Morse served as head of Bloomberg Television in the U.S.
Fall 2022
Ann Simmons, Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist Fellow
Moscow Bureau Chief, Wall Street Journal
Simmons covers Russia’s domestic and foreign policy, Moscow’s relationship with Washington, and life in the former Soviet state under the authoritarian leadership of President Vladimir Putin. The bureau she manages also covers events in ex-Soviet republics, including Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Previously, Simmons served in Moscow for Time Magazine in the 1990s and in Time’s Washington, D.C., bureau. Simmons also served as Los Angeles Times bureau chief in Nairobi and Johannesburg.
Spring 2022
Natalie Wolchover, Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist Fellow
Science Writer, Quanta Magazine
Wolchover has been with Quanta, covering the physical sciences and mathematics, since the magazine’s launch in 2013. Her articles are often syndicated to sites such as Wired, Business Insider, Nautilus, and The Atlantic. Wolchover has also reported for Nature, the New Yorker and Popular Science, among others. As a science writer, she has covered a wide range of topics in the physical sciences, including particle physics, quantum computing, climate change and gravitational waves.
Fall 2021
Molly O’Toole, Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist Fellow
Immigration and security reporter, Los Angeles Times
O’Toole was one of the recipients of the first Pulitzer Prize for audio journalism in 2020, reporting for an episode of “This American Life.” She has also reported for the Washington Post, the Atlantic, the New Republic, Newsweek and the Associated Press from Central America, West Africa, the Middle East, the Persian Gulf and South Asia.
Spring/Fall 2020
Marc Lacey, Assistant Managing Editor, The New York Times
Lacey has spent more than 20 years at The New York Times, in roles including national editor, foreign correspondent, White House correspondent and editor of the weekend news report. Before arriving at The New York Times, he was a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. He recently served as a moderator for the fourth Democratic presidential debate, held in October 2019 in Ohio.
Past Events
Dissident Writers: A Conversation
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Meshri Family Auditorium
“Dissident Writers: A Conversation" featured NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik in conversation with Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America; and Belarusian poet Valzhyna Mort, associate professor of literatures in English (A&S). It was one of Cornell’s Freedom of Expression theme year events, and explored topics including book banning in the U.S., the role of society toward dissident writers and the role of dissenting writers around the world.
Free Press in a Free Society: U.S. Newsrooms on the Front Lines
November 14, 2023
Kiplinger Theater, Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts
A strong and independent press plays a critical role in a healthy democracy. In Free Press in a Free Society: U.S. Newsrooms on the Front Lines, renowned journalists and faculty discussed this role and how newsrooms are faring today. The event was part of the Freedom of Expression theme year.
Transcending Echo Chambers: Political Polarization and the Media
April 19, 2023
Rhodes-Rawling Auditorium in Klarman Hall
As the polarization in the U.S. grows ever deeper, a hot debate rages over whether the media are helping or worsening the divide. In “Transcending Echo Chambers: Polarization and the Media,” distinguished alumni and Cornell faculty explored the media’s role and what can be done.
Aftershocks: Geopolitics Since the Ukraine Invasion
Sept. 22, 2022
Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts
As the war in Ukraine rages on, how is the ground shifting across Eurasia and beyond? In "Aftershocks: Geopolitics Since the Ukraine Invasion," leading journalists and scholars covering Russia, Europe, China and the global political landscape discussed how international relations, security, trade and economics are shifting in ways not seen since World War II.
"Telling Stories about Science": A master class with Natalie Wolchover
March 15, 2022
Lewis Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall
Mutating viruses, nuclear fusion, quantum computing – scientific intricacies seem to make headlines daily, yet successfully communicating scientific complexities to a general audience can be difficult. On March 15, award-winning science journalist Natalie Wolchover, Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist in the College of Arts and Sciences, offered a master class on “Telling Stories about Science.”
Move: An Urgent Conversation with Award-winning Immigration Journalists and Authors
Dec. 1, 2021
Three Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters and authors were on campus Dec. 1 for "Move: An Urgent Conversation with Award-winning Immigration Journalists and Authors," an event hosted by the Distinguished Visiting Journalist program in the College of Arts & Sciences.
Covering COVID: How Journalists Tackled the Biggest Science Story of our Time
April 28, 2021
In the hour-long webinar "Covering COVID: How Journalists Tackled the Biggest Science Story of our Time," four leading science journalists actively covering the pandemic discussed the challenges of writing about the complexities.
Between the Polls: How Voters Decide
Oct. 19, 2020
In “Between the Polls: How Voters Decide,” a webinar held on Oct. 19 at 7 p.m., a panel of experts examined how we learn about voters and their decisions and how those data drive election forecasts. They also explored how polling is covered in the media and methods journalists use to gauge voter interest.
