Board of Professional Advisors

John Seigenthaler
Founder, First Amendment Center & Chairman Emeritus, USA Today
Nashville, TN

John Seigenthaler has been Chairman of the Board of Professional Advisors since 2005, and a Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies was endowed in his name by the College of Mass Communication in 1986. He founded the First Amendment Center in 1991 with the mission of creating national discussion, dialogue, and debate about First Amendment rights and values. A former president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Seigenthaler served for 43 years as an award-winning journalist for The Tennessean, Nashville's morning newspaper. At his retirement he was editor, publisher and CEO. He retains the title chairman emeritus. In 1982, Seigenthaler became founding editorial director of USA TODAY and served in that position for a decade, retiring from both the Nashville and national newspapers in 1991. Under Seigenthaler's direction, the First Amendment Center has become the preeminent institution for advancing first amendment freedoms.