Cambridge, MA — The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) is pleased to announce the appointment of renowned journalist Bob Schieffer as the newest recipient of the Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellowship.
Schieffer’s fellowship will focus on the 2016 presidential election and extend over three semesters, beginning in September and ending in December of 2016. He plans to be in residence at HKS at least twice each semester. He stepped down as anchor of CBS’ “Face the Nation” on May 31. During his time on campus Schieffer will meet with students and faculty, speak at various events for the Harvard community and participate in Shorenstein Center activities.
“Bob Schieffer has long been one of America’s most distinguished and respected television news journalists who served as the face of ‘Face the Nation’ for almost 25 years,” said Harvard Kennedy School Dean David T. Ellwood. “We are excited that he will share his time, his energy, and his knowledge with the Shorenstein Center and the HKS community over the coming year.”
The Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellowship was established in December 2013 through a generous gift from Doug and Lydia Shorenstein in honor of Doug’s late father, Walter Shorenstein.
Walter Shorenstein, the Center’s original benefactor, was a leader in business and politics. The fellowship aims to bring high-profile figures in the areas of media, politics, and policy to the Kennedy School to engage with students, faculty, scholars, and the public on important issues of the moment.
“Joan Shorenstein, for whom the Shorenstein Center was originally named, worked as a journalist for Bob Schieffer, and Bob was an admiring friend of Walter Shorenstein, Joan’s father, for whom the fellowship is named. What could be more perfect?” said Alex S. Jones, the Shorenstein Center’s director.
Biography
Bob Schieffer has been a reporter for more than half a century and a part of CBS News for 46 years. He is one of the few reporters in Washington to have covered all four of the major beats: the Pentagon, the White House, Congress and the State Department.
Schieffer anchored the Saturday edition of the “CBS Evening News” for 23 years, became the network’s chief Washington correspondent in 1982 and was named the anchor and moderator of “Face the Nation” in 1991. In March 2005 Schieffer served as interim anchor of “The CBS Evening News” until August 2006. Within these roles he has interviewed every president since Richard Nixon, as well as most of those who sought the office. Schieffer also moderated three debates for the Presidential Commission on Debates in 2004, 2008 and 2012.
Schieffer has won numerous awards including eight Emmys, the Overseas Press Club Award, the Paul White Award, the Edward R. Murrow Award, the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence, was named a living legend by the Library of Congress and was inducted into the National Academy of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.
Schieffer was born in Austin, Texas and grew up in Fort Worth where he graduated from Texas Christian University. He served three years in the U.S. Air Force. Prior to joining CBS in 1969 he was a reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram where he was the first reporter from a Texas newspaper to report from Vietnam. He and his wife, the former Patricia Penrose, reside in Washington, D.C.
The Shorenstein Center is a research center based at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, with a mission to study and analyze the power of media and technology and its impact on governance, public policy, and politics. Research, courses, fellowships, public events, and engagement with students, scholars, and journalists form the core of the Center.
Media Contact:
Doug Gavel: (617) 495-1115
HKS Director of Media Relations
