The Chronicle of Higher Education

The Chronicle of Higher Education
Title	The Chronicle of Higher Education
Founded	1966
Country	United States
Language	English

The Chronicle of Higher Education is an American publication focused on news, information, and analysis about colleges and universities in the United States and internationally. It covers developments affecting faculty, administrators, students, and policy makers across higher education institutions, professional associations, and funding agencies. The publication operates as a separate enterprise reporting on institutions, campaigns, and controversies involving prominent figures, foundations, and governmental actors.

History

The publication was founded in 1966 during a period marked by the presidencies of Lyndon B. Johnson, the civil rights movement associated with Martin Luther King Jr., and campus mobilizations contemporaneous with events like the Free Speech Movement at University of California, Berkeley, the Tet Offensive, and debates over the Higher Education Act of 1965. Early coverage included reporting on administrators such as Clark Kerr and faculty activists influenced by figures like Noam Chomsky and Angela Davis. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s it documented governance disputes at institutions including Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, and Columbia University, and tracked policy shifts under presidents such as Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. In the 1990s and 2000s it chronicled changes related to technology driven by companies like Microsoft and Apple Inc. and legal matters connected to decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States and rulings such as Grutter v. Bollinger. The 2010s and 2020s saw reporting on tuition trends involving institutions like University of California, Los Angeles, labor disputes involving unions such as the American Federation of Teachers, and global partnerships with universities like University of Oxford and University of Cambridge.

Content and Coverage

Coverage spans reporting on academic personnel including scholars like Noam Chomsky, administrators such as Drew Gilpin Faust, and trustees such as David Skorton, alongside stories on student movements reminiscent of protests at Kent State University and events influenced by organizations like Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Beat reporting addresses research funding from agencies including the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and philanthropic support from foundations such as the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Ford Foundation. It examines accreditation issues involving bodies like the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and Association of American Universities, campus security topics linked to law enforcement agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and intellectual property disputes with corporations such as Google LLC and Elsevier. Opinion pages and features have hosted contributors from think tanks like the Brookings Institution, advocacy groups such as the American Council on Education, and scholars affiliated with institutions including Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Michigan, University of Chicago, Columbia University, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, New York University, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, Brown University, Northwestern University, University of California, Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Georgetown University, Emory University, Vanderbilt University, Rice University, University of Southern California, Purdue University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Michigan State University, Indiana University Bloomington, University of Florida, University of Minnesota, University of Maryland, College Park, Boston University, Rutgers University–New Brunswick, Temple University, Yeshiva University, Georgetown University Medical Center, California Institute of Technology, Auburn University, University of Notre Dame, Brandeis University, Syracuse University, University of Rochester, University of Cincinnati, University of Pittsburgh, University of Miami, Texas A&M University, University of Arizona, Arizona State University and many international institutions such as University of Toronto, Australian National University, University of Melbourne, Peking University, Tsinghua University, University of Tokyo, Seoul National University, National University of Singapore, ETH Zurich, University of Amsterdam, Sorbonne University, Heidelberg University, University of Barcelona, University of São Paulo, University of Cape Town, Auckland University of Technology, King's College London, London School of Economics, University of Edinburgh, Trinity College Dublin, University of Hong Kong, Nagoya University, McGill University, Queen's University Belfast.

Organization and Ownership

The publication has been organized as an independent newsroom interacting with boards and commercial partners including subscription services, event organizers, and advertisers from corporations such as ProQuest, Elsevier, Thomson Reuters, and trade groups like the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. Its leadership has featured executives and editors with trajectories involving organizations like The New York Times Company, Gannett, Time Inc., The Washington Post, Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, Columbia Journalism School, Poynter Institute, and industry gatherings such as the Society of Professional Journalists conferences. Ownership changes and venture investments have intersected with entities such as Sage Publications and private investors linked to media groups like Graham Holdings Company and The McClatchy Company.

Editorial Policy and Criticism

Editorial guidelines emphasize independence, fact-checking, and correction protocols similar to standards advocated by Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, and journalism programs at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and Medill School of Journalism. Criticism has come from academic administrators at University of Michigan and Arizona State University, faculty senators at University of California, Berkeley and critics associated with organizations like the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and the American Association of University Professors. Coverage of affirmative action cases involving University of Michigan Law School, litigation such as Fisher v. University of Texas, and controversies around speakers like Cornel West and Ann Coulter generated debate; investigative pieces on scandals implicated institutions including Penn State University, University of Virginia, Michigan State University, and Florida State University.

Impact and Influence

The publication has influenced hiring searches, accreditation decisions, and public debates involving policymakers such as U.S. Secretary of Education, legislators associated with the U.S. Congress higher education committees, and regulators like the Department of Education. Reporting has been cited by broadcasters such as NPR, PBS, and BBC News, and by newspapers including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Financial Times, The Guardian, The Times (London), Le Monde, Der Spiegel, El País, Globe and Mail, Sydney Morning Herald, The Hindu, Asahi Shimbun, South China Morning Post, Al Jazeera and academic journals like Nature, Science (journal), and The Lancet.

Awards and Recognition

Journalists associated with the publication have received journalism honors such as the Pulitzer Prize, the George Polk Awards, the Peabody Award, the National Press Club Awards, the Scripps Howard Awards, the Online Journalism Awards, the Investigative Reporters and Editors Awards, the Education Writers Association Awards, and fellowships from institutions like the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Category:American periodicals Category:Higher education publications