Bloomberg News editor to lead Northeastern’s journalism school

Veteran business journalist Jonathan Kaufman will be the next director of Northeastern University’s School of Journalism, the college announced Tuesday.

Kaufman, the Bloomberg News executive editor, will begin July 13. He will oversee a team of faculty who teach 225 undergraduate journalism students and growing graduate programs. He succeeds associate professor Dan Kennedy, who is serving as interim dean after longtime director Stephen Burgard died in 2014.

Kaufman wants to expand new media and digital innovation and speak out about “the challenges and opportunities journalism faces in the 21st century,” he said in a statement.

“I am thrilled to be joining Northeastern,” he said.

At Bloomberg, Kaufman oversees more than 300 reporters and editors worldwide. Under his leadership, his team at Bloomberg has won several awards including a 2015 Pulitzer Prize for the series “Tax Runaways,” by Zachary R. Mider.

Before joining Bloomberg, Kaufman worked at The Wall Street Journal, most recently as senior editor. He began his career at The Boston Globe in the 1980s, where he was part of a team that won a Pulitzer prize for coverage of racism and job discrimination in Boston.

Bruce Ronkin, Northeastern’s interim dean of the College of Arts, Media and Design, which houses the journalism school, called Kaufman a gifted journalist and leader in his field.

“He brings decades of experience across traditional and digital media to Northeastern, along with deep knowledge of the business sector and a global worldview,” Ronkin said.