SUNY New Paltz fall 2023 James H. Ottaway Sr. Visiting Professor of Journalism Professor Amanda Sperber, a foreign correspondent, will give a speech titled “Rethinking Foreign Correspondence” on Thursday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m. in Science Hall Room 181. Prior to the main event, a reception celebrating Sperber will be held in the lobby just outside of SH 181 at 6:30 p.m.
As the Ottaway Visiting Professor, Sperber is teaching a class titled “International Reporting.” Her course asks students to look critically at the history of the profession, which has its origins as a tool of colonialism. Students learn how to navigate that legacy while also identifying sources from other nations and cultures and reporting international stories.
About Amanda Sperber
Sperber is an independent and foreign correspondent whose work has appeared in various renowned publications. She’s received numerous grants to support her work, including from the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting and the United Nations Foundation.
Selected pieces include:
“This Must Be the Place: Industry and Science Tangle in Ethiopia,” VQR
“This Young Kenyan Designer Is Making Masks for East Africa’s Largest Settlement,” Vogue
“In Refugee Resettlements in Uganda, Survivors Grapple with How to Raise Children Born of Rape,” Glamour
About the James H. Ottaway Sr. Visiting Professorship
The James H. Ottaway Sr. Visiting Professorship, SUNY New Paltz’s only endowed professorship, is named for the founder of Ottaway Newspapers Inc., who was a leader of the American Press Institute and a lifelong supporter of high quality journalism in the Hudson Valley and across the globe.
The Ottaway Visiting Professorship was established in 2000 through the generosity of James H. Ottaway Jr. ’18 HON and Mary Ottaway ’70g (Elementary Education).
Numerous well-known journalists have preceded Sperber as Ottaway professors, including Pulitzer Prize winners, foreign correspondents, book authors, editors, investigative reporters and experts in finance, science and consumer journalism.
More information about the Ottaway Visiting Professorship, including biographies of previous professors, can be found at https://www.newpaltz.edu/ottaway/.
