Ohio University hosts Pulitzer Prize winners on back-to-back days

In the beginning of March, the Ohio University community had the rare opportunity to hear two Pulitzer Prize winners speak on consecutive days.  

While rare, Chester Pach, associate professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences, noted that the occurrence is one example of just some of the “magical moments” that “happen all the time at OHIO.” 

On Wednesday, March 1, investigative journalist legend Bob Woodward spoke as part of the Kennedy Lecture Serie s in Baker Center Ballroom. Woodward spoke of his career, from uncovering the Watergate scandal in 1973 alongside Carl Bernstein, to authoring and co-authoring 21 books. 

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Woodward has won a multitude of journalism awards, along with sharing two Pulitzer Prizes – one for coverage on Watergate in 1973 and one for coverage on the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He has worked at The Washington Post since 1971.

His talk was moderated by Mark Turner, assistant professor of journalism in the Scripps College of Communication. 

The following day on Thursday, March 2, Fredrik Logevall spoke in Baker University Center for the 44th annual Costa Lecture, discussing “John F. Kennedy and the Promise of Democracy.” 

Logevall, the Laurence D. Belfer Professor of international affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and professor of history at Harvard University, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2013 for his book, “Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam.” 

“I think it’s essential to bring the best and most accomplished scholars or practitioners in their discipline or profession to campus. Many people on campus have read Woodward’s or Logevall’s books. Few have had the opportunity to engage them in dialogue,” Pach, who organized the Costa Lecture, said. “The visits of distinguished speakers enrich our experience while they’re on campus. Those visits can also establish a continuing relationship that can be valuable to our students and our university in many different ways.” 

Pach noted this was the third time Logevall had visited the campus, furthering connecting with OHIO’s history department and inspiring more OHIO students.  

Both lectures were free to attend for the OHIO community. Both Woodward and Logevall also made time in their visit to talk with journalism and history students, respectively.  

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The Kennedy Lecture Series was established in 1962 by a gift from OHIO alumni Edwin L. and Ruth Kennedy, aiming to bring speakers who appeal across the OHIO community. The Costa Lecture was established thanks to alumna Helen Coast Hayes and is sponsored by the history department. 

“The Costa Lecture and the Kennedy Lecture series—especially when they lead to consecutive evenings with Pulitzer Prize winners—affirm our commitment to what Ohio University is all about—the advancement of knowledge in the arts and sciences and the exchange of stimulating ideas in inclusive communities,” Pach said.