Senior Writer and "Financial Affairs" Columnist
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Expertise: College finance | For-profit higher education | Patents | Academic technology transfer | Commercialization of university research | Online education | Distance learning
Background: As a reporter and editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education since the late 1980s, Goldie Blumenstyk has covered topics touching every corner of higher education, including distance education, the Internet boom and bust, state politics, university governance, and fund raising. She is nationally known for her expertise on for-profit higher education, college finances, and university patents and the commercialization of academic research.
Blumenstyk is a frequent speaker at higher-education industry conferences (including those of the Career Colleges Association and the Association of University Technology Managers) and at events designed for members of the news media. She also has served as a panel moderator at seven of the The Chronicle's annual conferences for college leaders, and has been a host (and guest) of Chronicle podcasts.
Her articles on colleges' relationship with industry, including their efforts to become biotech hubs and their dealings with corporate giants like BP, ExxonMobil, and Novartis, have been widely cited by other experts and writers.
She has also reported for The Chronicle from several countries in Europe and from China. Her monthly “Financial Affairs” column focuses on the business of the academic enterprise.
Blumenstyk earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Colgate University and a master’s from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Before joining The Chronicle, she covered politics and government for The Orlando Sentinel, in Florida, including a stint as city hall reporter. She is originally from New Jersey and has been known to incorporate some of her personal interests (e.g., skiing, golf, birding, ice cream) into Chronicle feature articles.
Honors: Special citation for beat reporting, National Education Writers Association, 2008, for her articles on college finance, including two that were part of The Chronicle's “Sticker Shock” series on college costs.
Media appearances: Blumenstyk has appeared as a guest on public-radio shows including NPR’s Talk of the Nation and On Point With Tom Ashbrook (WBUR-FM, Boston). While at The Orlando Sentinel, she was a regular on local public television.
