Stephen Buckley, Trinity ‘89 and lead story editor for Global Press Journal, is set to join the faculty of the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy, the center announced Wednesday.
Buckley’s appointment will begin July 1. He joins New York Times columnist Frank Bruni as one of two new Eugene C. Patterson professors of the practice for journalism and public policy.
Buckley has worked as a writer, editor and educator. He began his career as a local reporter for The Post, then worked as a national reporter and editor for The Saint Petersburg Times—now The Tampa Bay Times—and was eventually promoted to managing editor and publisher of the Times’ digital site. Buckley also served as dean of faculty at the Poynter Institute and taught at The Aga Khan University in Kenya.
“I had the great fortune of working with Stephen when he was an editor at The Tampa Bay Times,” Dewitt Wallace Center Director Bill Adair said in the release. “He was one of the smartest editors I’ve known.”
Patterson, the namesake for the professorship, and Buckley crossed paths while Buckley was still a high school student. Patterson, then editor of The Saint Petersburg Times, allowed Buckley to work as a sportswriter. When Buckley rose to the position of senior editor at the Times, Patterson remained a mentor for him.
“It’s really humbling to be able to play a small part in extending Gene Patterson’s legacy,” Buckley said in the release. “It’ll be a thrill to pass along the journalistic values he exemplified—integrity, independence, intellectual honesty, humility, compassion, and courage—to this generation of students as they prepare to help defend our fragile democracy. And to do it at my alma mater, no less, feels like a wonderful gift.”
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Preetha Ramachandran is a Trinity senior and diversity, equity and inclusion coordinator for The Chronicle's 118th volume. She was previously senior editor for Volume 117.