Oral History: Sarah Bartlett
A foundation builder, Sarah Bartlett fostered the graduate school of journalism at City University of New York and helped to advance the careers of students and alumni, more than half of whom come from underrepresented communities.
She was instrumental in raising nearly $70 million for new programs at the J-School, including a $20 million gift in 2018 from Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist. In appreciation for his generosity, the school formally changed its name to the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York.
On her path to academia, Sarah worked initially as a reporter at Fortune magazine, did a couple of stints at BusinessWeek, was a banking, financial and Metro section reporter at The New York Times, and served just shy of two years as editor-in-chief of Oxygen Media, founded by Oprah Winfrey, Geraldine B. Laybourne, and others.
In late August 2021, Sarah announced that she would retire from CUNY in June 2022, at the end of the academic year.In late August 2021, Sarah announced that she would retire from CUNY in June 2022, at the end of the academic year.
This oral history, conducted by Dean Rotbart, editor-in-chief of NewsLuminaries.com, was recorded on June 29, 2020.
Photo by Avital Rotbart, Time In A Bottle Photography