75 and getting younger
In 1936, with the United States embroiled in the Great Depression and the world unsettled by Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in Germany, an unexpected gift landed on the desk of Harvard President James B. Conant, a present that would have far-reaching implications. It was a letter from the lawyer for Agnes Wahl Nieman, a little-known Milwaukee widow whose husband had owned a local newspaper, notifying Conant that she had left the bulk of her estate, about $1.4 million, to Harvard. The bequest came with what was then considered a curious stipulation: “To educate persons deemed specially qualified for journalism.” Despite a few initial misgivings about whether newspaper reporters properly belonged among University scholars, Nieman’s gift eventually financed an annual fellowship program that became the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard. The foundation, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this weekend, is still perhaps best known for its 10-month fellowship program, which brings top...