Joanne Lipman Joins the IAS as First Peretsman Scully Distinguished Journalism Fellow

The Institute for Advanced Study announces the Peretsman Scully Distinguished Journalism Fellowship as part of its Director’s Visitors Program, with Joanne Lipman as the first fellow. Lipman, one of the world’s leading journalists, is a bestselling author, CNBC Contributor, and former Chief Content Officer of Gannett and Editor-in-Chief of USA Today. The visiting fellowship will commence in September 2019.

“This fellowship is a thrilling opportunity for the Institute to open its doors to new audiences through the work of some of the world’s most accomplished journalists,” stated Robbert Dijkgraaf, Director and Leon Levy Professor. “Bringing fresh perspective and national media experience, Joanne Lipman is ideally suited to inaugurate this program, and we warmly welcome her to the Institute.”

This fellowship, for leading journalists and editors, aims to protect journalistic freedom, encourage the transmission of novel and nuanced ideas, and advance trust in reporting. It signals IAS’s commitment to truth and innovation in all forms, including the vital role of a free and informed press. As part of the IAS community-at-large, the Distinguished Journalism Fellow will participate in lectures, panels, and broadcasts and interact frequently with Faculty and Members. From IAS founding Professor Albert Einstein to today’s world-leading scholars, the Institute continues to yield breakthroughs and introduce pioneering ideas ahead of the curve, from the theoretical underpinnings of machine learning to a critical anthropology of politics and morality. Among the fellowship’s aims is to share the Institute’s pursuit of knowledge with the public in new and accessible ways.

“IAS is poised to play a leading role at the intersection of media and technology. It’s already home to many of the world’s top researchers in digital transformation as well as the social sciences,” Lipman said. “I’m thrilled to be joining the Institute, which is committed to truth, freedom of ideas, and the ideals of trusted journalism. I look forward to tapping into IAS’s deep resources and helping to share their extraordinary work with a broader audience.”

During her term, Lipman plans to focus on two areas. She will work with the Institute’s leaders in machine learning and artificial intelligence to delve into the impact of those emerging technologies on the media, specifically on journalism. She also will continue her work on gender in the workplace, which resulted in the No. 1 bestseller That’s What She Said: What Men and Women Need to Know About Working Together, and engage with scholars in the School of Social Science for its theme year on “Economy and Society.”

Lipman is the former Chief Content Officer of Gannett and Editor-in-Chief of both USA Today and the USA Today Network, encompassing the flagship publication plus 109 local newspapers including the Detroit Free Press, the Des Moines Register, and the Arizona Republic. In that role, she oversaw more than 3,000 journalists and led the organization to three Pulitzer Prizes.

She previously held senior editorial roles at The Wall Street Journal, where she was the first female Deputy Managing Editor and supervised coverage that won three Pulitzer Prizes. At the Journal, she created “Weekend Journal” and “Personal Journal,” and oversaw the creation of the Saturday edition. Lipman was also founding Editor-in-Chief of Conde Nast Portfolio magazine, which won Loeb and National Magazine Awards.

Lipman’s work has been published in numerous outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Fortune, Newsweek, and the Harvard Business Review. She has appeared as a regular television commentator on ABC, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, and PBS, among others. She is a frequent public speaker, with recent engagements with the World Economic Forum in Davos, the United Nations, the Aspen Ideas Festival, the International Lean In conference, West Point Military Academy, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Milken Institute Global conference.

Lipman has served or is currently serving on the Boards of Yale University Council; World Editors Forum; Knight Commission on Trust, Media, and Democracy; Yale Daily News; Spirited Media; and Yale Alumni Magazine, among others; and the Advisory Boards of Data.world, Breastcancer.org, and the Yale School of Music. She is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a recipient of the New York Women in Communications Matrix Award.

Lipman graduated summa cum laude from Yale University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts in History.

About the Fellowship
The Distinguished Journalism Fellowship, launched in fall 2019, sponsors a three- to six-month term for leading journalists and editors. The purpose of the new fellowship program, which is part of the Director’s Visitors Program at IAS, is to protect journalistic freedom, encourage the transmission of novel and nuanced ideas, and advance trust in reporting. It underscores IAS’s commitment to truth and innovation in all forms, including the vital role of a free and informed press. The inaugural fellowship is funded through the generous support of the Scully Peretsman Foundation.

About the Institute
The Institute for Advanced Study is one of the world's foremost centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. Located in Princeton, N.J., the IAS is dedicated to independent study across the sciences and humanities. Founded in 1930 with the motto "Truth and Beauty," the Institute is devoted to advancing the frontiers of knowledge without concern for immediate application. From founding IAS Professor Albert Einstein to the foremost thinkers of today, the IAS enables bold, nonconformist, field-leading research that provides long-term utility and new technologies, leading to innovation and enrichment of society in unexpected ways.

Each year, the Institute welcomes more than 200 of the world's most promising researchers and scholars who are selected and mentored by a permanent Faculty, each of whom are preeminent leaders in their fields. Comprised of four Schools—Historical Studies, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social Science—IAS has produced an astounding record of introducing new understanding and is responsible for undeniable progress across disciplines and generations, from the development of one of the first stored-program computers to the establishment of art history as a discipline in the United States. Among its present and past Faculty and Members are 33 Nobel Laureates, 42 of the 60 Fields Medalists, and 18 of the 20 Abel Prize Laureates, as well as many MacArthur Fellows and Wolf Prize winners.