Steve Coll

Dean & Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism

Steve Coll (b.1958) is a renowned American journalist-author who has won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize twice – the first in 1990 for ‘explanatory reporting’and then in 2005, in the category of general fiction, for his acclaimed book, ‘Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2011’. He has also been a recipient of many other coveted awards such as Overseas Press Club Award, PEN American Center John Kenneth Galbraith Award, Arthur Ross Book Award, Living Award, Robert Kennedy Journalism Award, Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award AND Lionel Gelber Prize for his distinguished work in the field of journalism.

Writer of many books, Mr Coll, who is at present the Dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, was born in Washington on October 8, 1958. He began his journalistic career in 1980 with a stint in California magazine before joining the Washington Post as a feature writer in 1985. Two years later, he was posted in New York as its financial correspondent. He collaborated with David A Vise on a series of reports scrutinising the Securities and Exchange Commission which earned them the Pulitzer Award in 1990. He served the Post as its Associate Editor from late 2004 to August 2005 before joining The New Yorker. In July 2007, he was named as the next director of the New America Foundation, a Washington-based, non-profit think-tank. In June 25 2012, he resigned as the President of the New America to write a follow-up to Ghost Wars. In October 12, hewas elected to the Pultizer Prize Board.