Al Hunt, the executive Washington editor for The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones and Company, will be the College's next Montgomery Fellow when he visits the campus for three days next month.
Hunt, who has also been a commentator on Cable News Network's "The Capital Gang" since 1984, will attend classes, meet with students and lecture during his visit from May 6-8.
The Montgomery Fellowship was established in 1977 by Kenneth Montgomery '25 and his wife Harle, to "provide for the advancement of the academic realm of the College ... making possible new dimensions for, as well as extraordinary enrichments to, the educational experience" at Dartmouth, according to a College press release.
Montgomery Endowment Director Barbara Gerstner said the Montgomery Endowment Steering Committee hoped to get a political journalist because this is an election year.
The committee is composed of College Provost Lee Bollinger, Dean of the College Lee Pelton, Dean of the Faculty James Wright, a trustee emeritus, an alumnus, three faculty members and two members of the Montgomery family.
Hunt said he accepted the fellowship because "they asked."
"Dartmouth is a great place, and I knew a couple students up there, and I thought it would be good to get away for a couple days," he said.
"I thought it would be fun," he said.
Hunt said he is excited about visiting an academic environment.
"This is going to be terrific for me," he said. "I don't mean to sound hokey, but I'm really flattered."
Hunt said he has visited the College several times, especially during the presidential primaries.
Government Professor James Shoch said Hunt will discuss the presidential campaign with students in his Government 33 class on American parties and politics. Shoch said he is delighted Hunt was chosen.
"He is one of the most astute political analysts today," Shoch said. "He is very shrewd, and he has inside dirt as well."
Shoch said Hunt's liberal stances as a columnist have often balanced the paper's conservative editorials.
Hunt has worked with the Wall Street Journal since 1964 and has been Washington bureau chief since 1983. He has been a panelist on Public Broadcasting Service's "Washington Week in Review" and a political analyst for the "CBS Morning News." He is a periodic panelist on NBC's "Meet the Press."
A graduate of Wake Forest University, Hunt lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife Judy Woodruff, one of the anchors for CNN's "Inside Politics."
While on campus, Montgomery Fellows reside in the Montgomery House, located on Rope Ferry Road across from Dick's House.
