Renowned journalist, educator coordinating Higher Education and Philanthropy conversation series
Susan King, accomplished international journalist and former dean of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, has been named Senior Fellow at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, the world’s first school dedicated solely to research and teaching about philanthropy.
King is coordinating and moderating a series of public conversations with leading figures in higher education and philanthropy as part of the school’s Higher Education and Philanthropy Initiative. The Lilly Family School of Philanthropy launched the Initiative to generate useful knowledge on how philanthropy engages higher education. The Initiative connects researchers, funders and practitioners to work together on learning how philanthropy can better contribute to higher education and its public purpose. After an exploratory workshop in 2022, the school convened a second substantive discussion to advance the initiative in 2023.
The school and King are hosting a series of webinars to share insights between the annual convenings and address issues ranging from successes and challenges of philanthropy in higher education, the institutions and policy environment that support them, to alternative models and perspectives to consider in the shifting higher education landscape.
“Susan King’s distinguished career at the nexus of journalism, higher education, philanthropy and public policy make her a wonderful choice to help us reflect on the state of higher education and philanthropy today and consider options for the path ahead,” said Amir Pasic, Ph.D., the Eugene R. Tempel Dean of the school. “We’re fortunate to have her unique perspective and experience to help inform the Higher Education and Philanthropy Initiative.”
King served as John Thomas Kerr Distinguished Professor and Dean of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media for 10 years until the end of 2021, where she enhanced a highly collaborative digital journalism curriculum. For six of the last seven years under King’s leadership, the school won the Hearst National Championship, the Pulitzer Prize of student journalism.
During her tenure, King also established a strong financial foundation, raising more than $85 million to support the school. To equip storytellers with skills and technology to publish across ever-changing digital platforms, King envisioned and built the state-of-the-art Curtis Media Center that offers a first-floor windowed studio and high-tech lab-classrooms. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation invested in the Knight Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media while King was dean and supported the Knight Learning Lab, a 21st Century lecture hall within the school.
In 2019 King was named Scripps Howard Administrator of the Year, awarded by the Scripps Howard Foundation in recognition of excellence as dean. She has served as a trustee at Fairfield University and Marymount College, Tarrytown, her alma maters.
"This is a time of extraordinary challenge in university communities," said King. "I look forward to working with the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy to focus on the questions, issues and opportunities that will emerge from its Higher Education and Philanthropy Initiative. Listening to leaders, understanding tensions on campuses and shaping new philanthropic strategies will help make America’s higher education promise even stronger.”
Before serving as dean of Hussman, King launched and led the Carnegie Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education at Carnegie Corporation of New York, where she served as vice president for external affairs and set priorities and strategies for communications and engagement. She also launched and administered the biennial Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy and re-invigorated the Carnegie family of institutions. King led the Carnegie Knight Initiative, focused on 11 top journalism schools, to reimagine journalism curriculum for the digital era.
King served in the Clinton administration, confirmed by the Senate twice as assistant secretary for public affairs in the Department of Labor, under Secretaries Bob Reich and Alexis Herman. She worked with Andrew Cuomo in his early months as secretary of Housing and Urban Development. She describes her career in government as working at the nexus of journalism and policy.
In a broadcast career spanning more than 20 years, King started as a reporter at WGR-TV in Buffalo, N.Y., then worked in the nation’s capital as a national network correspondent and local anchor. She began her Washington, D.C., career at WTOP-TV, then moved to WGR-TV and WJLA-TV. She was ABC News White House correspondent during the Reagan administration and was perhaps best known for “Cover Story,” her signature reports that won two Emmys. She also hosted NPR’s “Diane Rehm Show” and contributed to CNN.
King is active in nonprofit board work. Along with women colleagues in Washington, she founded the International Women’s Media Foundation in 1990, recognized today as one of journalism’s key free press nonprofits. She is on IWMF’s advisory committee and active in its global grant giving process. King and the other founders were honored with the foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.
A director of National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management and advisor to NC Local News Workshop, King has served as a director on a number of boards including BBC’s Media Action, Carnegie Council on International Ethics, and WUNC Public Radio. She was inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2014 and North Carolina’s Media and Journalism Hall of Fame in 2022. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, IWF New York and Belizian Grove, and serves on the advisory committee for the Ida B. Wells Society at Morehouse College.
More information about the Higher Education and Philanthropy Initiative and the webinar series is available at https://philanthropy.indianapolis.iu.edu/institutes/higher-ed-initiative/index.html
About the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University Indianapolis is dedicated to improving philanthropy to improve the world by training and empowering students and professionals to be innovators and leaders who create positive and lasting change. The school offers a comprehensive approach to philanthropy through its undergraduate, graduate, certificate and professional development programs, its research and international programs and through The Fund Raising School, Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, the Mays Family Institute on Diverse Philanthropy and the Women’s Philanthropy Institute. Follow us on X (formerly known as Twitter),LinkedIn, or Instagram and “Like” us on Facebook.