National Geographic’s Goldberg to join Arizona State

Susan Goldberg, editor in chief of National Geographic and editorial director of National Geographic Partners, will join Arizona State University with a joint appointment in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory’s College of Global Futures.

Goldberg will serve as vice dean and professor of practice and lead new programs and strategic partnerships in Washington, D.C. She will expand ASU’s presence in the nation’s capital which provides significant educational opportunities and leverages the expertise of world-class faculty across a wide range of issue areas.

She will join the University in February 2022.

Goldberg will also work closely with ASU’s Phoenix and Los Angeles locations, expanding leadership and academic offerings.

Goldberg has served as editor in chief of National Geographic since April 2014 and editorial director of National Geographic Partners since October 2015. She is the magazine’s first female editor and its 10th overall.

During her tenure as editor, National Geographic has been honored with 10 national magazine awards, three Pulitzer finalists, and twice named Webby Media Company of the year (2018 and 2020). In addition to hundreds of other significant editorial awards, National Geographic also won a 2018 Scripps Howard Award for Environmental Reporting highlighting awareness and catalyzing action surrounding protecting the planet.

Goldberg also has been singled out repeatedly for her leadership, particularly around her work promoting women. She was the leadership honoree for her work uplifting women in 2020 from the International Women’s Media Foundation; has repeatedly been on the “most powerful” and “most influential” lists of women in media and in Washington; won the Exceptional Woman in Publishing Award in 2015. In addition, Goldberg’s recent leadership accolades include landing at No. 7 on InStyle Magazine’s “Badass 50” list.