Sig Gissler is an American former professor of journalism at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and the former administrator of the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

Biography

Sig Gissler was born in Chicago. He is a graduate of

Lake Forest College Lake Forest College is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by a group of Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducational since 1876 and an undergraduate-focused liberal arts inst ...

and completed graduate work in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. After writing for the ''Libertyville Independent-Register'' and serving as executive editor of the '' Waukegan News-Sun'', he joined ''

The Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...

'' in 1967. Following a Knight Fellowship at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1976, he became editorial page editor of the ''Journal''; in 1985, he was appointed editor of the newspaper. During his tenure, the ''Journal'' assembled a more diverse staff and completed a year-long examination of racial issues in 1991. After his nominal retirement in 1993, he taught at Stanford and

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Universities as a visiting professor. In 1994, he joined the full-time faculty of the

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism s ...

, where he served as a senior fellow at the now-defunct Freedom Forum Media Studies Center; spearheaded a

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

-sponsored workshop on journalism, race and ethnicity ("Let's Do It Better"); and taught seminars on

new media New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...

and the coverage of racial and ethnic issues in urban America in addition to the Journalism School's introductory reporting and writing course. In 2002, he received the Columbia University Presidential Teaching Award. From 2002 to 2014, he served as the administrator of the

Pulitzer Prizes The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made hi ...

while remaining a special faculty member at the Graduate School of Journalism. As administrator, he declined to revoke the controversial Pulitzer Prize awarded to

Walter Duranty Walter Duranty (25 May 1884 – 3 October 1957) was an Anglo-American journalist who served as Moscow bureau chief of ''The New York Times'' for fourteen years (1922–1936) following the Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil War (1918–1 ...

. In a press release of 21 November 2003, he stated that with regard to the 13 articles by Duranty from 1931 submitted for the award "there was not clear and convincing evidence of deliberate deception, the relevant standard in this case."

References

Living people Lake Forest College alumni People from Chicago Stanford University faculty Columbia University faculty Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism faculty Journalists from Illinois Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-academic-bio-stub