Benjamin H. Baldwin

Benjamin H. Baldwin (MSJ46) was a member of the inaugural class of the Medill Hall of Achievement in 1997. Baldwin taught at Medill for 28 years, serving as chairman of the Editorial Department, director of the Teaching Newspaper Program, and director of the National High School Institute, journalism division. In 1984, he received the Society of Professional Journalists national Distinguished Teaching in Journalism Award.

Baldwin began the master’s degree program at Medill in the fall of 1941 but was drafted into the Army the following February. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps for four years during World War II, including 18 months in the South Pacific. He left the Army as a First Lieutenant and returned to Medill to finish his course work. He also worked as a news writer for the Voice of America, in news and sports at WOR radio in New York, and as a news writer at WGN Radio in Chicago. His bachelor’s degree was from Southern Illinois University. Scores of former students established the Ben Baldwin Fund when he retired in 1984 as a way to honor their teacher and mentor. This endowed fund is used to provide assistance to Medill undergraduates.

Baldwin died in 2005.