Jennifer Washburn, Visiting Fellow
Jennifer Washburn is a research analyst and freelance journalist based in Brooklyn, NY. She currently holds a visiting fellowship at the Center for American Progress, where she is researching and writing about alternative energy research and clean technology initiatives at U.S. universities.
Ms. Washburn also serves as a fellow at the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, DC. Prior to this she worked as a freelance journalist and fellow at the Open Society Institute, where she wrote about the transformation of the public sphere in America.
Ms. Washburn is the author of University, Inc.: The Corporate Corruption of Higher Education (Basic Books, 2005), which has received critical acclaim both inside and outside academia. Her book explores the commercial transformation of American higher education over the last 25 years and the effect this is having on disinterested research, education, and the free flow of public knowledge. Her journalism articles and opinion pieces have appeared in a range of publications, including The Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, The Nation, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Times, Mother Jones, and the Journal of Commerce. In 2001, Ms. Washburn was the recipient of the prestigious National Association of Science Writers’ Science-in-Society Journalism Award.
Ms. Washburn has appeared frequently on both television and radio, including "Lou Dobbs Tonight" (CNN), “Marketplace” (PRI), “On Point” (WBUR), “Public Affairs Hour” (KCPW-FM), "Air Talk with Larry Mantle" (KPCC-FM), and “The Jim Bohannon Show" (Westwood One Radio, Washington, DC). She regularly delivers lectures and talks to a broad range of science and education groups. Past engagements include: University of Nebraska Centennial Anniversary Symposium (April 2000), American Federation of Teachers (March 2006), Clemson University’s Presidential Colloquium (Spring 2001), Association of American Universities (January 2006 & March, 2005), National Academy of Sciences (May 2000), the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools’ Annual Meeting (April 2001), University of Georgia (April 2002), University of North Carolina Emerging Issues Forum (February 2003), Harvard University (October, 2005), and the Council on Government Relations (February 2006).