About the Chair
John Seigenthaler believed in journalism of integrity. Throughout his nationally renowned career, he championed the underdog, shed light on dark places and looked out for the community he served. Seigenthaler passed away on July 11, 2014, but his legacy lives on in the form of the John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies at Middle Tennessee State University.
The Chair was instituted in 1986 to honor Seigenthaler’s lifelong commitment to free expression values. Seigenthaler, longtime president, editor and publisher of The Nashville Tennessean, remained chairman emeritus of that newspaper until his death at age 86. He also was the first editorial director of USA TODAY and the first chairman of the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University.
The mission of the chair is to promote awareness and understanding of the First Amendment and to support quality journalism in the state through deepening the experiences of students and partnerships with the community. Its main programs include:
The Pulitzer Prize lecture series
Each semester, the chair brings in Pulitzer Prize winners to discuss their work. Recent speakers have included:
- South Florida Sun Sentinel managing editor Dana Banker, data reporter Aric Chokey and education reporter Scott Travis, winners of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service for Unprepared and Overwhelmed, a series of stories about the 2019 shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
- Reporter Laura Gomez, project manager Annette Meade, and interactive graphics editor Mitchell Thorson with the USA Today Network, winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting for The Wall.
- C.J. Chivers, a former Marine and winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Feature Writing for The New York Times.
- Eric Eyre, Charleston, reporter with (W.V) Gazette-Mail and winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for investigative reporting on the opioid crisis.
- David Fallis, deputy investigative editor for The Washington Post, and part of the team that won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting for Fatal Force, an unprecedented national police sh