Schools

Carl Bernstein, Pulitzer Prize Winner, to Join Stony Brook Faculty

Investigative journalist will begin post as a visiting professor on Sept. 1.

Stony Brook University's newest visiting professor is none other than Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Carl Bernstein, who along with Bob Woodward broke one of the biggest stories in American politics in the 1970s when they exposed the Watergate controversy as reporters for The Washington Post.

The university announced Thursday that Bernstein, 69, has been appointed to a two-year position as a visiting presidential faculty member who will teach and give lectures for the School of Journalism and the departments of English, history, political science, sociology and writing and rhetoric.

Stony Brook President Dr. Samuel L. Stanley Jr. said Stony Brook is "so extremely fortunate" to have Bernstein on faculty, calling him a "true American icon."

“Coupled with his perspective as a great historian, he brings to bear an incisive view of what is happening in the world today," Stanley said. "I’m sure it will be standing room only when he’s teaching or lecturing on campus over the next two years.”

Bernstein and Woodward's work led to the resignation of president Richard Nixon. They are the authors of two books chronicling Watergate: All The President’s Men, which was made into an Academy Award-winning film, and The Final Days. Since the 1970s, Bernstein's work has focused on the abuse of power in areas including government, finance, culture, media and spirituality. He frequently appears as a television guest and analyst, and has a variety of current projects including television and film work along with a memoir.

In a statement, Bernstein said he found the "student body, faculty and location" to be an ideal match to his vision for teaching.

“I’ve known for a while  that I want to do more teaching, but I was determined not to be pigeonholed  in a single academic department or discipline, and I wanted to be at a university that is breaking the traditional academic mold  and structure," he said.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here