Reflecting on Jeff Brodsky's legacy
Last week we learned that journalist, oral historian, and Columbia alumnus Jeffrey H. Brodsky passed away on July 26, 2023, at age 49 after battling Parkinson’s disease for the past decade. As we receive the news of his passing, our community is reflecting on his many important and enduring contributions to oral history at Columbia University and beyond.
We first met Jeff when he joined the Oral History Master of Arts (OHMA) program at Columbia as part of its inaugural cohort. Jeff’s contributions, both through his own practice and the support of others’, would shape the OHMA program for years to come. Mary Marshall Clark, Director of the Columbia Center for Oral History Research and Co-Founder of the Oral History Master of Arts Program, reflects on Jeff’s time at Columbia:
Jeff and I had spent several months talking about what he might focus on for his thesis, bouncing ideas around. He was determined to find a thesis idea that was original and unique. One day while crossing campus I heard Jeff yell out as he ran towards me, “I found it, I found my thesis topic! I am going to interview politicians about their first campaigns!” I realized in the moment how brilliant it was, because it would capture the process of ‘becoming,’ the essence of what we do as oral historians.
For his thesis, Jeff conducted over 80 oral history interviews in which politicians recounted their first political races. Those interviewed included Governor Mike Dukakis, Senator George McGovern, Civil Rights advocate Jesse Jackson, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield. The finished historical retrospective was published as a multi-page feature in The Washington Post and on NPR.
Mary Marshall Clark continues:
Jeff was a truly talented interviewer, able to open up dialogues that politicians and journalists rarely spoke about. Jeff represents the curiosity and creativity of OHMA students, as well as the fortitude to follow through on their dreams.
As part of his Oral History master's thesis, Jeff Brodsky interviewed White House Correspondent Sam Donaldson, US Senator Ron Wyden, and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffet.
After graduating from OHMA, Jeff continued to capture and preserve critical memories of leaders in politics, journalism, and business. Expanding and internationalizing his thesis work, he interviewed a dozen world leaders about their formative political experiences and campaign memories. In 2012, Chief Executive magazine commissioned him to interview executives on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor. He also conducted extensive interviews with Pulitzer Prize winner Peter Kann, the former publisher of The Wall Street Journal and CEO of Dow Jones, and television news veterans Sam Donaldson of ABC and Bob Schieffer of CBS.
Jeff’s work will become available through the Jeffrey H. Brodsky Oral History Collection at the Oral History Archives at Columbia (OHAC). Kimberly Springer, Curator for the Oral History Archives at Columbia, comments on the impact of this collection:
The Jeff Brodsky Oral History Collection will be monumental not only in the scope and access he was able to achieve with his narrators in creating primary source materials, but also in demonstrating the range of considerations for oral history as a dynamic methodology. OHAC is incredibly grateful that the Brodsky family and Jeff took into consideration the archival and preservation aspects of his contribution to the field.
Jeff and his family have also supported the work of OHMA students through the Jeffrey H. Brodsky Oral History Award. Announced in November of 2015, this award is given to one or more students annually whose thesis makes an important contribution to knowledge and most exemplifies the rigor, creativity, and ethical integrity that OHMA teaches its students. To more fully acknowledge the depth and breadth of excellence in OHMA theses, in 2022 the Brodsky family generously decided to expand the award and extend the funding for five additional years, allowing us to honor several students and their work each year.
2022 Brodsky Award winner courtney scott’s I Am Your Nanny’/I am [not] your [m]other. Through film, poetry, collage, photography, and edited audio, Scott explores the experiences of career nannies working in New York City
In the eight years it has been awarded, the Brodsky Award has allowed us to amplify work that, like Jeff's, pushes the field in new directions, from using AI to analyze oral history collections to writing speculative oral histories of the future. The Brodsky family's vision in creating this award has significantly deepened our practice of oral history, and we are grateful for the opportunity they have created.
Amy Starecheski, Director of the Oral History Master of Arts Program
As we reflect on Jeff’s legacy at Columbia and beyond, we invite you to engage with his work and on the work that his legacy has inspired and enabled.
The Brodsky family asks that donations in Jeff’s name be made to:
Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications
P.O. Box 4114
Manchester, NH 03108