Fred M. Hechinger was an education editor at The New York Times from 1959 to 1990.

He came to the U.S. in 1936. He graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School

DeWitt Clinton High School

DeWitt Clinton High School is an American high school located in the Bronx, New York City, New York.-History:Clinton opened in 1897 at 60 West 13th Street at the northern end of Greenwich Village under the name of Boys High School, although this Boys High School was not related to the one in Brooklyn...

, in 1937.
He completed his bachelor’s degree at City College of New York

City College of New York

The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...

. He served in the U.S. Army, during World War II.
He was a foreign correspondent, for the Overseas News Agency.
He was an education writer for The Times of London, The New York Herald Tribune, The Washington Post and Harper's.
In 1950, he became education editor at The Herald Tribune.

He was a member of the National Advisory Committee for the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, and Senior Advisor to the Carnegie Corporation of New York

Carnegie Corporation of New York

Carnegie Corporation of New York, which was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," is one of the oldest, largest and most influential of American foundations...

.

He married Grace Bernstein; they had two sons, Paul D. Hechinger, John E. Hechinger.

Legacy

The Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting

Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting

The Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting is the United States' top annual prize for journalism about education. It has been awarded each year since 1972 by the Education Writers Association, the national group for reporters and editors who cover education issues...

 was established by Education Writers Association. The Fred M. Hechinger Education Journalism Award is awarded by the Hechinger Institute on Media Education at Teachers College, Columbia University

Teachers College, Columbia University

Teachers College, Columbia University is a graduate school of education located in New York City, New York...

.

His papers are held at the Hoover Institution

Hoover Institution

The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....

.

Awards

• 1989 George Polk Career Award
• 1952 James L. Fisher Award for Distinguished Service to Education
• 1950 George Polk Award, Education Reporting
• 1949 George Polk Award, Suburban Reporting

Works

• "About Education; A New Elitism Appears in Higher Education", The New York Times, Fred M. Hechinger, November 20, 1984
• "The University's Neglected Task", Address by Fred M. Hechinger, December 5, 1991
• "Are Schools Better in Other Countries?", In defense of the American public school, Editor Arthur J. Newman, Transaction Publishers, 1978, ISBN 9780870739996
• "Sving Youth from Violence", Crossroads: the quest for contemporary rites of passage], Editors Louise Carus Mahdi, Nancy Geyer Christopher, Michael Meade, Open Court Publishing, 1996, ISBN 9780812691900
• "Textbooks and Education", Public education under criticism, Editors Cecil Winfield Scott, Clyde Milton Hill, Ayer Publishing, 1954, ISBN 9780836925203
• "Eight Weeks in America", The Magpie, June 1937, v. 21, n. 2., p. 12.

• An Adventure in Education: Connecticut Points the Way, Macmillan, 1956
• The Big Red Schoolhouse Doubleday, 1959; Smith, Peter Publisher, Inc., January 1990, ISBN 9780844612294
• Teen-Age Tyranny Morrow, 1963
• The New York Times Guide to New York City Private Schools, Simon & Schuster, 1968
• Growing Up in America McGraw-Hill, 1975