Nieman Foundation for Journalism

The Nieman Foundation for Journalism is the primary journalism institution at Harvard University.

History[edit]

It was founded in February 1938 as the result of a $1.4 million bequest by Agnes Wahl Nieman, the widow of Lucius W. Nieman, founder of The Milwaukee Journal. Scholarships were established for journalists with at least three years' experience to go back to college to advance their work.^[1] She stated the goal was "to promote and elevate the standards of journalism in the United States and educate persons deemed specially qualified for journalism."^[2]

The ($10,000, "recognizes superb examples of nonfiction writing that exemplify literary grace, a commitment to serious research and social concern")

J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize

The ($10,000, awarded to the "book-length work of history, on any subject, that best combines intellectual or scholarly distinction with felicity of expression")

Mark Lynton History Prize

The ($30,000, "given annually to aid in the completion of a significant work of nonfiction")

J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award

Several prestigious literary or journalism awards are based at the Nieman Foundation. They include three given in connection with the Columbia University School of Journalism:

Other awards based at Nieman include:

1938–1939

Archibald MacLeish

(Nieman Fellow class of 1939), 1939–1964

Louis M. Lyons

(Nieman Fellow class of 1951), 1964–1972

Dwight E. Sargent

1972–1984

James C. Thomson Jr.

(Nieman Fellow class of 1959), 1984–1989

Howard Simons

(Nieman Fellow class of 1989), 1989–2000

Bill Kovach

(Nieman Fellow class of 1966), 2000 – June 2011

Robert H. Giles

(Nieman Fellow class of 1990), 2011 –

Ann Marie Lipinski

The leader of the Nieman Foundation is known as its "curator" — a holdover from a brief moment after Agnes Wahl Nieman's death when her gift was to be used to build a microfilm library of quality journalism. The foundation has appointed eight curators: