Howell Corbin Gwaltney Jr. was an American journalist, publisher, and veteran. He is best known for founding ''

The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is an American newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals, including staff members and administrators. A subscription ...

.'' Over the course of his career he also founded and edited the Johns Hopkins Magazine and founded ''

The Chronicle of Philanthropy ''The Chronicle of Philanthropy'' is a magazine and digital platform that covers the nonprofit world of philanthropy. Based in Washington, D.C., it is aimed at charity leaders, foundation executives, fund raisers, and other people involved in ph ...

.''

Early life and education

Gwaltney was born in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

on April 16, 1922, to Howell Corbin Gwaltney Sr., a lawyer, and Margaret Gwaltney (née Bell), a homemaker. He decided to become a journalist in his youth after reading ''Ritchie of the News''. After graduating from

Baltimore City College Baltimore City College, known colloquially as City, City College, and B.C.C., is a college preparatory school with a classical liberal arts focus and selective admissions criteria located in Baltimore, Maryland. Opened in October 1839, B.C.C ...

, Gwaltney attended

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

, graduating in 1943.

Career

After graduating from Johns Hopkins, Gwaltney worked for the

Baltimore News-Post The ''Baltimore News-American'' was a broadsheet newspaper published in downtown Baltimore, Maryland until May 27, 1986. It had a continuous lineage (in various forms) of more than 200 years. For much of the mid-20th century, it had the larges ...

before enlisting in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

in the middle of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In December 1944, at the start of the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

, Gwaltney was captured and taken as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

by the

Nazi army The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previou ...

. After leaving the army, Gwaltney worked for

Western Electric Western Electric Co., Inc. was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company that operated from 1869 to 1996. A subsidiary of the AT&T Corporation for most of its lifespan, Western Electric was the primary manufacturer, supplier, ...

. In 1949, Gwaltney proposed reimagining the Johns Hopkins alumni magazine, and convinced the university's provost P. Stewart Macaulay to agree and name him the editor in chief. The first issue launched the following year.

Chronicle of Higher Education

In 1957, Gwaltney met with ten other campus publication editors to plan the launch of a publication focused on the higher education industry. Initially called ''American Higher Education,'' the magazine sold 1.6 million copies in 1958. As the magazine grew, Gwaltney left his job at Johns Hopkins in 1959 to run Editorial Projects for Education, which owned the magazine. In 1966, EPE's board published the first issue of ''

.'' In 1978, Gwaltney and his business partner and co-founder John Crowl bought full control of the magazine from EPE for $2 million (nearly 10 million in 2025 dollars). Crowl later sold his stake to Gwaltney, giving him full ownership over the publication. Gwaltney stepped down as editor of ''The Chronicle'' in the late 1990s. Under his leadership, ''The Chronicle'' became the authoritative publication on the higher education sector. Gwaltney also co-founded ''

'' in 1988 with Phil Semas, who was then managing editor at ''The Chronicle of Higher Education.'' In 2023,''The Chronicle of Philanthropy'' separated from its parent company.

Personal life

Gwaltney was married three times. He married Doris Jean Kell and had three children, Jean, Margaret, and Thomas, before the marriage ended in divorce. He then married Jean Wyckoff. The marriage lasted 17 years before Wyckoff died in 1990. In 2004, Gwaltney married Pamela Gwaltney (née Imburgia). After his death, his wife assumed control of ''The Chronicle''. The Society of Professional Journalists' annual award for the best collegiate newspaper is named for Gwaltney.

References

{{reflist 1922 births 2019 deaths American journalists American editors