Steve Coll (born October 8, 1958) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

journalist, academic and executive. He is currently the dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he is also the

Henry R. Luce Henry Robinson Luce (April 3, 1898 – February 28, 1967) was an American magazine magnate who founded ''Time (magazine), Time'', ''Life (magazine), Life'', ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'', and ''Sports Illustrated'' magazine. He has been called ...

Professor of Journalism. A staff writer for '' The New Yorker'', he served as the president and CEO of the New America think tank from 2007 to 2012. He is the recipient of two

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 ...

awards, two Overseas Press Club Awards, a PEN American Center

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, an

Arthur Ross Book Award The Arthur Ross Book Award is a politics-related literary award. History and administration It was endowed in 2001 by Arthur Ross, an American businessman and philanthropist, for the purpose of recognizing books that make an outstanding cont ...

, a Livingston Award, a

Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award The Robert F. Kennedy Awards for Excellence in Journalism is a journalism award named after Robert F. Kennedy and awarded by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. The annual awards are issued in several categories and were est ...

, a ''Financial Times'' and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award, and the Lionel Gelber Prize. From 2012 to 2013, he was a voting member of the Pulitzer Prize Board before continuing to serve in an ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'' capacity as the dean of the Columbia Journalism School.

Early life and family

Steve Coll was born on October 8, 1958, in Washington, D.C. He attended

Thomas S. Wootton High School Thomas S. Wootton High School or Wootton High School (WHS) is a public high school in Rockville, Maryland. Its namesake is Thomas S. Wootton, the founder of Montgomery County. The school was founded in 1970 and is part of the Montgomery County ...

in Rockville, Maryland, graduating in 1976. He moved to Los Angeles, California, and enrolled in

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. In 1980, he graduated ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' with majors in English and history. Coll also attended the University of Sussex during his studies. Coll is married to the journalist and poet Eliza Griswold.

Career

Journalism

After college, Coll wrote for the Pasadena Weekly. He then wrote general-interest articles for ''California'' magazine. In 1985, he started working for '' The Washington Post'' as a general assignment feature writer for the paper's ''Style'' section. Two years later, he was promoted to serve as the financial correspondent for the newspaper, based in New York City. He and

David A. Vise David A. Vise (born June 16, 1960), is a journalist and author. He is a Senior Advisor to New Mountain Capital, a New York-based investment firm, and Executive Director of Modern States “Freshman Year for Free,” a philanthropy whose goal is t ...

collaborated on a series of reports scrutinizing the

Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

for which they received the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting and the

Gerald Loeb Award The Gerald Loeb Award, also referred to as the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism, is a recognition of excellence in journalism, especially in the fields of business, finance and the economy. The award was estab ...

for Large Newspapers. In 1989, he moved to New Delhi, when he was appointed as the ''Post's'' South Asia bureau chief. He served as a foreign correspondent through 1995. Coll began working for the newspaper's Sunday magazine insert in 1995, serving as publisher of the magazine from 1996 to 1998. He was promoted to managing editor of the newspaper in 1998 and served in that capacity through 2004. He has also served as an associate editor for the newspaper from late 2004 to August 2005. In September 2005, Coll joined the writing staff of '' The New Yorker''. Based in Washington, D.C., he reported on foreign intelligence and national security.

New America Foundation

On July 23, 2007, Coll was named as the next director of the New America Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. He has also contributed to the '' New York Review of Books,'' particularly about the war in Afghanistan. On June 25, 2012, Coll announced his resignation as President of the New America Foundation to pen a follow up to ''Ghost Wars''. On October 23, 2012, Coll was elected to the

Board, administered by Columbia University.

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

On March 18, 2013, Coll was announced to succeed

Nick Lemann Nicholas Berthelot Lemann is an American writer and academic, the Joseph Pulitzer II and Edith Pulitzer Moore Professor of Journalism and Dean Emeritus of the Faculty of Journalism at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He has be ...

as the Dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, effective July 1, 2013.

Honors and awards

* 1990: Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting (co-winner with

) * 1991: Livingston Award for International Reporting for "Crisis and Change in South Asia", '' The Washington Post'' (winner) * 2000:

for "Peace Without Justice: A Journey to the Wounded Heart of Africa", ''The Washington Post'' (1st Prize: International Print) * 2000: Ed Cunningham Award for "Peace Without Justice: A Journey to the Wounded Heart of Africa", ''The Washington Post'' * 2004: Lionel Gelber Prize for '' Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001'' (winner) * 2004: Cornelius Ryan Award for ''Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001'' (winner) * 2005: Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for ''Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001'' (winner) * 2005:

for ''Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001'' (winner) * 2008: National Book Critics Circle Award (biography) for ''The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century'' (finalist) * 2009: PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for ''The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century'' (winner) * 2012: ''Financial Times'' and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award for ''Private Empire'' (winner) * 2012: National Book Critics Circle Award (nonfiction) for ''Private Empire'' (finalist) * 2018: National Book Critics Circle Award (nonfiction) for ''Directorate S'' (winner)

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *

Podcasts

* * * * *

References

External links

Steve Coll
at '' The New York Review of Books'' *

Interviews

Steve Coll discusses ''Ghost Wars''
on National Public Radio's '' All Things Considered,'' August 2004 (three-part online audio series)
Hour-long interview about "The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century"
by Amy Goodman on '' Democracy Now!,'' September 15, 2008 (video, audio, and print transcript)
Video (with mp3 available) of conversation with Coll
on Bloggingheads.tv
Webcast Interview
on ''The Bin Ladens'' at the

Pritzker Military Museum & Library The Pritzker Military Museum & Library (formerly Pritzker Military Library) is a non-profit museum and a research library for the study of military history on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. The institution was founded in 2003, and its spe ...

on October 23, 2008
Webcast Interview
on ''Ghost Wars'' at the

on January 27, 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Coll, Steve 1958 births Living people American newspaper reporters and correspondents American newspaper editors American male journalists American war correspondents War correspondents of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) American non-fiction crime writers The New Yorker staff writers Espionage writers Occidental College alumni Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction winners Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism winners 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers New America (organization) Gerald Loeb Award winners for Large Newspapers Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs 21st-century American male writers Columbia University faculty