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Presidents Of Five Of America's Most Respected Research Universities Renew Their Commitment To Revitalize Journalism Education

Presidents of Columbia, Northwestern, U.C. Berkeley, the University of Southern California and Harvard University’s Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy will support the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education.

New York, NY—June 7, 2007. The leaders of five of America's leading research universities have reaffirmed their pledge to fund a third year for the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education. President Lee Bollinger, Columbia University; President Henry S. Bienen, Northwestern University; Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau, University of California, Berkeley; President Steven B. Sample, University of Southern California and acting President Derek Bok, Harvard University have all renewed their commitment to advance the U.S. news business by helping revitalize their schools of journalism.

The presidents of all five schools will each provide $400,000 from presidential discretionary funds to support the third year of the initiative. Carnegie Corporation of New York had provided $2.4 million and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation $1.7 million for the first two years.

“Continuing to invest in schools of journalism is investing in the democratic health of the country,” said Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York. “Journalists who are analytic thinkers, clear writers and communicators and who have in-depth understanding of the complexity of issues facing the modern world are the building blocks of an informed citizenry.”

Vartan Gregorian and Hodding Carter III, former John S. and James L. Knight Foundation president, announced the formation of the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education in 2005. Alberto Ibargüen, the current Knight Foundation president, has continued to support the initiative.

The Carnegie-Knight Initiative involves three distinct efforts: (1) integrating schools of journalism more closely with the entire campus in an effort to better teach, challenge and prepare the next generation of news industry leaders for an increasingly complex world; (2) The Carnegie-Knight Task Force, focusing on research and the creation of platforms for educators to speak on policy and journalism education issues; (3) the creation of News 21 incubators on innovative reporting through traditional and new media.

Carnegie Corporation and the Knight Foundation see these five highly respected universities as centers for experimentation, research and change. They also expect the Carnegie-Knight Task Force to commission research from other universities in order to disseminate the innovations that arise from the initiative to other colleges and universities.

The Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education was crafted by:

• Nicholas Lemann, dean, Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University
• John Lavine, dean, Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University
• Orville Schell, dean, Graduate School of Journalism, UC Berkeley
• Geoffrey Cowan, dean, Annenberg School for Communication, USC
• Alex Jones, director, The Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Further information about Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Knight Foundation and their work on journalism can be found at www.carnegie.org and at www.knightfdn.org.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote “the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.” For over 95 years the Corporation has carried out Carnegie's vision of philanthropy by building on his two major concerns: international peace and advancing education and knowledge. As a grantmaking foundation, the Corporation will invest more than $85 million this year in nonprofits to fulfill Mr. Carnegie’s mission, “to do real and permanent good in this world.” The Corporation's capital fund, originally donated at a value of about $135 million, had a market value of $2.5 billion on September 30, 2006.