Howard W. French Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Recognizing a career spent covering the globe and teaching the next generation.
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences named Professor Howard W. French as one of its newest members — recognizing decades of work in international reporting, authorship and education.
French spent years reporting from Africa, the Americas and Asia for The New York Times, where he built a reputation for sharp insight and global perspective. In addition, he’s authored five books, spanning nonfiction and history. His latest, “Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War,” offers a sweeping reexamination of Africa’s role in the rise of the modern world.
“It's not often that I'm lacking for words, but receiving an honor like this was a big surprise,” said French. “Columbia has been a great place to pursue my work over nearly two decades now, and I'm grateful to be surrounded by so many brilliant colleagues and to have the university's fantastic array of resources for research readily available. No one working in higher education today can take such wonders for granted.”
French joins the 2025 cohort alongside leaders in academia, the arts, public policy and science. The Academy, founded in 1780, honors individuals who shape public understanding and bring clarity to the defining issues of our time.
At Columbia Journalism School, French teaches international reporting and challenges students to think deeply about power, geopolitics and the media’s role in shaping global narratives.
He joins Columbia colleagues Hashim M. Al-Hashimi and Michael I. Weinstein in the 2025 Academy cohort, and is one of six Columbia Journalism School faculty members and directors to receive this honor, alongside Dean Jelani Cobb, Nicholas Lemann, Margaret Sullivan, Michael Schudson and 2024 honoree Daniel Alarcón.
About the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences honors excellence and convenes leaders from every field of human endeavor to examine new ideas, address issues of importance to the nation and the world, and work together “to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people."